Flames of Sapphire
by Reishii-Chan
Summary: She thought that Sasuke might not love her at all. But he left her with his family heirloom—meant for his brother. And now it has alerted the original owner himself. Was it an act of kindness on Sasuke's part, or a means of getting rid of her? ItaSaku with some light SasuSaku later.
1. Departure

**Summary: **She thought that Sasuke might not love her at all. But he left her with his family heirloom-meant for his brother. And now it has alerted the original owner himself. Was it an act of kindness on Sasuke's part, or a means of getting rid of her?

**Author's note:** As you all know, this scene is from the English dubbed anime series of Naruto, and this is where Sasuke leaves Sakura for revenge. It's short because it's outlining the beginning of the idea that I have. Words taken directly from the anime series itself. It is going to be rated T until further notice.

**Disclaimer**_**: **_I do not own, in any way, shape, or form, Naruto. _Gravity _by Sara Bareilles is not owned by me.

xXx

_Something always brings me back to you,  
>it never takes too long.<br>No matter what I say or do,  
>I still you feel you here, from the moment I'm gone.<em>

Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing.

What do you mean you're leaving, Sasuke? Sakura wanted to ask him, but the pressure she kept on her tongue with her teeth only let out a tiny whimper. She felt like curling up and crying. All of her hopes had been shattered. Sasuke had been completely brain-washed by Orochimaru, and now he was leaving her for him, to get stronger, to seek out that person he had been talking about since the moment she met him, and kill him. But wasn't she more important than that? Couldn't he see that she loved him dearly?

She had known that he was going to leave that night. Running back seemed like the right thing to do. She had been certain she could convince him to stay in Konoha and get stronger together with Naruto, Kakashi...and with her. But the moment she stepped out from the bushes and saw him walking with the backpack, it took everything in her power to keep from breaking down.

And she had tried to confront him about it as well. All he did was reprimand her and sent her to her room. All she had done was stand there, letting him pass her by, saying nothing but, "Why?" as if he would give her an answer. And he had. It had ripped her to pieces. "Why should I have to tell you anything?" had been a question that demanded proof of their friendship.

Nothing seemed to be going the way she thought it would.

"It's none of your concern."

Hadn't it been? They were a team, right? Everyone effects the team. He was with her. She would try to take care of him. It hurt, it cut deeply within her. The tears rolling down her cheeks were salty and wet, and she refused to sob aloud. With his back to her like this, without him actually seeing her crying, she could pretend that she wasn't, even for a second.

"I know you hate me," she had said. She bit her lip, but smiled at the memories that flashed before her eyes. "Even in the beginning you could never stand me." Had he ever said differently? Had he denied this? She chose to ignore that part. "Remember? Back when we made genin, and we were assigned to our three-man squads? We were alone together for the very first time, right here on this very spot. You got so mad at me that day."

And she smiled. He would remember. He should be able to see the changes she went through to impress him. She stopped caring so much about how she looked, she was kinder toward Naruto, she pretended to act like her hair being shred hadn't been a big deal. She had tried to be a bigger person for him. Maybe he wouldn't call her annoying anymore. Maybe she'd finally be the girl that he was looking for.

"I don't remember that day."

It tore her apart. _Lies, lies!_ But he wouldn't lie to her. If he said he didn't remember, than he didn't. "Y-yeah. It was so long ago, right? But still; that's the day that it all began. It was the start of you and me. And Naruto. And Kakashi-sensei."

The memories flooded through. Of every mission they had endured together. Camping out in the woods. Eating ramen. Being goofs. She knew that those moments must be dear to him, too. She cherished them with all of her heart.

When Sasuke had yet to respond, she resigned. "I know about your clan, Sasuke. I do. And seeking revenge...that won't bring anyone happiness. Nobody at all. Not you..." she took a deep breath. "And not me."

The clouds rolled overhead, blocking out what little light the moon provided. With it, it deemed to darken her hope, too.

"I knew it."

She looked at Sasuke.

"I'm not the same as you. I'm traveling the path the rest of you can't follow. I know that the four of us had worked together, and for a while I thought I could take that road instead. But in the end, I've decided on revenge."

He...he hadn't...

"I'll never be like you and Naruto."

"Don't do this, Sasuke! You don't have to be alone!" she cried. "I have a family, and friends, but...if you were gone, Sasuke, it would be the same thing for me, as being all alone!" She couldn't control the tears now. "Sasuke! I'm so in love with you I can't even stand it!" They were flowing down her cheeks freely. The pain in her chest increased and she felt her throat tighten. Couldn't he see that she was baring her soul to him? She loved him. Why didn't he love her, too? "I'm begging you, don't walk away! I'll even help you get your revenge! I'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, I _swear!_ Stay here...with me."

The clouds began to part, but the gloom in her heart remained. She could see him clearly now. He still hadn't faced her. _Why?_ she cried in her head. _Why can't you just look at me?_

"And if you can't," Sakura added nervously, "then take me with you Sasuke." She hiccuped and cried some more. Her shoulders were shaking so badly that she had to hold herself tightly. Maybe he _would_ consider taking her with him. He must know that she would do _anything _for him, if it meant he'd be happy with her.

Finally, he turned to face her. There was a smirk on his face, and her hopes climbed. Maybe he would say yes! She braced herself, ready to follow him out of the gates of Konoha, when he completely stopped her cold.

"You haven't changed a bit. You're still annoying."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. He began to walk away.

"Don't leave me!" The next thing she knew she was sprinting up to him. She stopped, pleading with all of her heart, "If you go I'll scream, and-"

He wasn't there. Behind her. She could feel his breath at her neck, the warm evening breeze brushing over her skin. Although she trusted Sasuke with all of her heart, she felt frozen with him standing behind her like this.

"Sakura..."

She felt faint. He was going to let her go. She could hardly contain her joy.

"...Thank you, for everything."

"Sasuke..."

When Sakura came to the next morning, she found herself on the park bench where she had attempted to stop Sasuke from leaving the village the night before. From her guess, it was still very early in the morning, and it had only been a few hours that she had been knocked out. There was a small twinge of pain whenever she would roll her stiff neck, but other than that she wasn't hurt.

Except her heart had been stolen.

Sasuke had left.

She curled her knees to her chest and rocked herself, tears rolling down her pallid cheeks. She had let him get away. After all of her efforts, he still chose to seek out vengeance without her. She had been so close... The reality hit her like a giant wave, and she sank into a pool of depression. _How could he?_ she thought to herself, _how could he just leave me behind like this? Did nothing I say matter?_

And then she remembered the last thing he had said to her. He had said thank you. But was he? Sakura bit her lip, trembling when a cold breeze swept through her.

She was about to start home, and curl up in bed and cry her heart out, when she felt something heavy tug at her neck. Confused, she undid the zipper at her collar and fingered a piece of string wrapped around her throat. She hauled it out and unclasped the buckle in the back, and marveled at the piece of jewelry before her. It was sapphire stones triangulated outside of a ruby stone cut into a tiny flame, with tiny diamond jewels dangling in tiny strings off of to the sides of the main jewel. It was beautiful. The stones even looked real, too. But why would he give this to her?

She flipped the article over, and squinted in the dim lighting to read the engravings. _Uchiha heirloom. Flames of Sapphire. To our son, Itachi_.

"Itachi?" Sakura whispered, wondering how Sasuke could have gotten this in the first place if it belonged to his murderous brother. But he had given it to her, and maybe it had been given to him by his brother. Either way, it meant something to him if he had it in his possession, and deciding to give it to her might have been his way of apologizing to her.

It kind of reminded him of her, too. Dark and mysterious, handsome and alluring, just like the sapphires. Fiery and passionate, protective and dangerous, just like the ruby. Sweet, caring, like the diamonds. She knew that as long as she kept this item, having Sasuke off her mind would be no easy feat to accomplish.

Silently, she slipped the necklace back onto her neck, enjoying the comforting weight it had on her. She zipped up her collar and took one last, longing on the road where she last seen the boy she loved. A tear streaked down her cheek. She walked back to her apartment, not disturbing her mother, and crawled into her sheets, fingering the tiny object that might mean so much to him before drifting into a fitful sleep.


	2. Ryuukaton

**Author's Note: **Time to get the ball rolling. You know I'm Canadian when I spell colors 'colours,' and humor as 'humour.' :P

**Disclaimer**: Naruto is not mine! _In Too Deep _by Sum 41 is not owned by me.

xXx

_'Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep,  
>up above in my head,<br>instead of going under..._

"Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?" Naruto questioned. Sakura seemed to snap out of her daze long enough to give him one of her fake smiles.

"No, no, of course not! I was just thinking is all,"

"You know, I read it that when a girl says she is 'just thinking,' it really means—"

"Shut your mouth, Sai?" Sakura countered.

Sai looked a bit perplexed, but shrugged his shoulders and delved back into his ramen. "I'm just saying that I read it in a book once..."

"Yeah, well the book's wrong. I'm just thinking over here," Sakura didn't want to be so terse with her two friends, but at the moment, being interrogated when she needed some thinking time wasn't the best course of action. She slurped up the last noodle and dug out a few yen. "I'm off to see shishou."

Naruto grabbed her wrist, meanwhile trying to juggle a mouthful of noodles in his mouth, "Wfait Sthakura-chan! Aren'th wyou going wif Shai and me?"

Sakura grabbed her wrist out of Naruto's grasp. It made a loud sound, as if finalizing her decision. She had something that she needed to take care of. She turned and gave her friends another fake apologetic smile. _Please don't be mad at me, _it said. "I'll be quick, okay? I just need to take care of something first. It's urgent."

Sai remained quietly stuck to his perch. Naruto bristled, but waved her off. "Fine, Sakura-chan. We'll meet up with you later."

"Thanks," the kunoichi nodded her head and slipped away from them.

Sai looked back to where Sakura had been standing, and then regarded Naruto. "That was a fake smile, wasn't it? I knew it. That means that something's wrong."

"Yeah, well, we don't really know until she tells us," muttered the blonde, slurping another noodle. "She's been acting stranger than usual, however. And I wonder what Tsunade-baa-chan has that can fix her."

"Well, she is very skilled with healing jutsus. Maybe she can fix Sakura?"

"Idiot. That won't heal her feelings."

Sai was quiet. "So, those 'feelings' can't just be fixed with normal ninjutsu?" Naruto shook his head. "Well, how do you fix them?"

The blond slumped in his chair in defeat. "If _any_ guy could figure that out, we'd rule the world by now."

xXx

_I hope shishou might know what to do,_ thought Sakura as she jogged to the Hokage Tower. _This thing has been acting strangely._

The heirloom that had been given to her by Sasuke four years ago had never left her. She always wore it during training, or out on missions, and she didn't necessarily believe in superstition or in luck, but it seemed to protect her and bring her to the places where she needed going. In training, when she felt like she could exhaust no more of her energy, she would always think of Sasuke, and how he would have continued pushing himself to the limits. And then she would feel invigorated by this new-found energy, and she could continue on. Of course, always with Sasuke in mind.

But lately, those little 'incidents' with the necklace were taking a different turn. As opposed to acting like some comforting lucky charm that hung around with her, it seemed to be _doing_ things upon its own. She could remember quite distinctly a mission that she and Kakashi had been tasked on, and in order to hide themselves upon Iwagakure's boarders, she had suggested a genjutsu spell. What Kakashi had forged indeed was a genjutsu spell, but Sakura had managed to build a second layer twice the size and twice the potency than his.

She couldn't really explain it. Genjutsu wasn't lost on her by all means, but she was indeed no master of such art. And she had a good feeling that it had something to do with that necklace.

In battle, she recalled upon crossing a black smith's hut where the fires in the stove burned brightly within, that fire also seemed to guide away from her, almost as if it were being repelled. She was fighting with a missin-nin who just happened to learn a few good jutsu before being brought down, and the last one that he had used had been the Katon jutsu: the Uchiha's trade mark fire attack. The nin had aimed squarely for her, and she knew she had barely enough time to dodge and get out without third degree burns.

But something strange had happened.

The scorching flames seared a path through the trees straight toward her, and just as she began to defend and flee, the flames scattered like raining stars. She barely had time to contemplate the issue afterwards before the nin was apprehended and brought to the interrogation room in Konoha.

_Please, please let her know something_. Sakura wished.

She hadn't told a soul about the heirloom. Not even Naruto, or her former sensei, Kakashi. She had come close to telling Tsunade before, when the effects of the necklace were beginning to build, but she had chickened out and opted for hoping the strange occurrences would take a break.

The guard at the door nodded at her appearance and let her through. Sakura climbed four sets of stairs and finally came in front of the door. This was it. She would tell her shishou what she had been given almost five years ago.

She knocked, tentatively at first, but when it seemed clear that her shishou might not be in there, she began to walk away. "Sakura!" came the woman's yell. "Come in!"

The medic-nin peered cautiously into the room. Tsunade was, surprisingly, soberly doing paperwork. Yes, it was a bit slower than usual, but this meant that Sakura might be able to get somewhere with this.

"Is there something on my face? Why are just standing by the door like I may bite? Do you not trust your teacher, Sakura?"

Sakura snapped right out of her trance. "No, sorry, shishou. I just...blanked. Um," Sakura came up to the desk and took a seat, building up her courage. "I came to ask you something, shishou. I...probably should have told you this earlier, because now it's getting worse, and it's becoming a big deal, and you might know how to stop it..."

"Sakura!"

Sakura flinched at the tone in Tsunade's voice. It border-lined hysterical and insane.

"Do _not_ tell me what I think you're about to!"

Sakura had trouble following where her teacher was going with this. "What? What I mean to tell you is—"

"You're pregnant, right?" Tsunade's brow twitched irritably. She bit her lip and slammed a hand down on the desk. "No, I am against abortion! I will not carry on such a thing! It's not right, it's— "

"Tsunade!"

The Godaime snapped out of her ranting.

"I am _not_ pregnant. I have something else to tell you," Sakura found it _somewhat_ comical, the way Tsunade deflated visibly and sank back into the chair with her cheeks flushed and eyes burning bright. What a relief for her it must be, Sakura thought when the woman in front of her sighed loudly and wiped sweat from her brow.

"Sakura, don't scare me like that!" she composed herself long enough to regard her student once more. "Now, what is it you intended to tell me, Sakura?" Those hazel eyes turned down their intensity when looking at Sakura.

"Well, uh," Sakura unclasped her collar and slipped off the necklace. "This. I wanted to know if you had any idea what it might be." Tsunade took it from her student, flipped to the back immediately and read the script that was beginning to fade away, thanks to Sakura's constant wearing.

"Where did you get this?" she scrutinized every detail, poking at the jewels and weighing it into her palm. "Well, Sakura? If you can read it says it belongs to the Uchiha estate. Where would you come across such an item? And you've had it for a very long time. You're chakra's infused within it."

_Infused?_ Sakura thought. _How is that possible? I didn't put my chakra in that item_. "I got it a long time ago," she answered finally, still pondering how that little jewel had sucked her chakra away unintentionally.

"From...?" The Hokage set the artifact gently down on the wooden table.

"From...from Sasuke, shishou." Sakura bowed her head shyly. "He...he gave this to me the day he left the village, four years ago. I never knew how he got it. But he left it for me, so I...I kept it. I hadn't seen a problem with it until..."

"Sakura, this could be serious. What happened with this necklace?"

Sakura bit her lip nervously. "Well, the first time was when I was training. I noticed that my strength returned when I, um, thought of Sasuke. And when I am on missions, it helps me; well, at least I think it does. I was able to make flames avoid me just by thinking of how much it resembled the Uchiha's jutsu. And when I'm using my ninjutsu, or practicing my genjutsu, it's like a little booster cable. I get more energy from it. I never thought anything of it until I started to realize that maybe it _was_ the necklace."

The room was quiet. Tsunade picked the necklace back up and tapped the middle jewel, the ruby shaped like a tiny spiraling flame. "This has a seal on it, Sakura. A very ancient seal. This might be the only thing keeping you alive."

Shocked, Sakura cried, "W-what do you mean? It _has_ been keeping me alive. Why might it kill me without a seal?" _Stupid! You should have known there had been a seal on it, too! _

"Sakura, this isn't just some toy." Tsunade was talking to her like she was explaining this to a three year-old, and Sakura didn't appreciate it. "Why Sasuke even gave this to you is beyond my thoughts. But this seal was placed on it long ago. What the seal does is it disguises the owner, or whomever might be wearing it, which would be you. Over time, the more chakra that it absorbs from the user, the seal changes. It begins to protect the chakra that it has stolen, which would be yours.

"Now, without the seal, it will kill you, simply because without the Uchiha blood in your veins, it will destroy any person who wields it. _And_, not to mention it shouldn't have been in Sasuke's possession in the first place, since it belongs to Itachi."

Sakura couldn't believe it. Why would Sasuke give her such a thing, if she couldn't use it properly anyways? Not the mention that if it hadn't had the seal on it, it would have killed her for not being an Uchiha. Had he known that the seal was on it when he gave such a thing to her, or had he intended it to kill her to stop her from coming after him?

"What do we do, shishou? Do we destroy it?"

"We can't. Only an Uchiha can. This," she waved the item in her hand, "this must _never_ have the seal removed around you. I could try to reinforce it, but it's so ancient that I might not be able to tamper with it. But you should lock this someplace safe, Sakura. An Uchiha can detect this. This must be an item passed down from Sasuke's family. Which means it must be quite powerful, especially if it was entrusted to Itachi in the first place." She chucked the necklace into Sakura's palms. "Hide it. Conceal it in genjutsu if you must. Or bury it so far underground it is undetectable. The only two things saving you right now from being found, Sakura, is the seal and the fact that your chakra has disguised the energy from this item."

Sakura looked helplessly at the item in her hands. All this time she had been a walking target. All this time it could have killed her. Did Sasuke really intend for this to happen?

"Shishou, what would happen if an Uchiha wielded this?"

Tsunade looked gravely at her student. "I am not certain. It might depend on the family. Either way, get rid of it. If you cannot do it, than give it to me and I will keep it safe in my possession. But Sakura," she fixed her student with a piercing glare, "don't _ever_ wear it again."

xXx

With the dangerous yet protective item within her hands, Sakura walked the rest of the way home. She was going to get rid of it. She wasn't sure as to how she would accomplish such a thing, but she was going to. No doubt about it. She didn't want to walk around any longer like a flashing beacon to alert Itachi, or anyone else.

How could Sasuke do this to her? Sakura thought, way back when she was twelve, that Sasuke was being nice to her. She thought that he had given her a memory for her to hold on to, as if to tell her he would be back eventually. But now, learning the origin and the truth behind such a beautiful thing, she was absolutely disgusted. Trust him to find a sneaky way of killing her. No wonder he looked surprised just a year ago when she confronted him at Orochimaru's base, when she had seen him for the first time in three years.

That had been a year ago, and she had associated his startled expression to that of Naruto. But now she knew the truth. He had hoped she would have been killed by his brother by now.

But that still didn't explain why she _hadn't_. Wouldn't Itachi seek her out once he found out that the item of his possession had been stolen and given to her? Or had the chakra she had given to the necklace really shielded her from him seeking her out?

Whatever it might be, she felt confident that it wouldn't happen either way. If he _was_ going to destroy her, he would have done it while she was still a weakling. Now that she could hold her own in a fight, she hoped he would back off and recognize that she wasn't going to be an easy target.

Rounding the corner to her apartment, she felt a twinge. It came from her hands. She peered at the necklace in her hands and wondered what it was doing. The flaming ruby seemed to actually be on fire. And she couldn't stop looking at it. It was absolutely entrancing. Just as Sakura was about to tear her eyes away, the flames died down, and the necklace returned to normal once more. _Funny_, thought Sakura.

She got into her apartment building, and like a siren the flaming ruby began to light once more. _What does this mean..._ Sakura felt around for other chakra, but only felt her residences' chakra. _Maybe it's a false alarm_ she assured herself, but her gut tightened, as if to tell her that wasn't the case.

Feeling like a fool for breaking into her own apartment, Sakura decided to back up from the door and search the rooms with her chakra, feeling no one, before entering. Maybe this necklace knew something she didn't, but it was definitely giving her a weird feeling about her apartment. As she entered, she kept on her guard, fingers ghosting over the kunai pouch at her thigh. But there was no one. So why was this thing in her hands spazzing out?

As she drifted into her bedroom and over to the tiny safe in her closet, she opened up the lock and cleared out her other items. She placed the necklace inside of there, closed it, then performed the hand seals to activate a seal and a genjutsu spell over it. _There, that should keep it until I find somewhere else to put it_. As she exited her room, she felt a pain within her chest. The pain increased until she was within her kitchen clutching her chest and gasping for breath. _W_-_what's going on..._

Sakura ambled back into her bedroom, where the pain lessened. Not only that, but to her eyes she could see the greenish blue hue that marked her genjutsu spell spiraling into the safe itself. _That...that _thing_ is absorbing my spell!_

She quickly undid the spell and unlocked the safe, taking the item in her hands. It seemed to sparkle in humour at her.

"What am I to do if I can't leave it without being hurt?" She had never taken it off and left it once in four years. It had become something comforting until it started acting weird, and now she couldn't adhere to her shishou's warning without it bringing her pain. "How do I get rid of you!" she shouted at the necklace, which gleamed in the semi-darkness, like a fox's grin.

Reluctantly, she placed the necklace back on, immediately feeling the weight of it on her taking some of her tension away. No matter how dangerous this thing could be without the seal, it brought her assurance. _Going out with it couldn't hurt me. If it was going to alert Itachi than he would have been here. Shishou didn't say the seal was wavering..._ She decided to meet up with her friends. _It's not like a have another choice. If I leave it I'll be in pain_.

Sakura grabbed a quick bite to eat and began heading out the door. She felt something sinister stir the moment she touched her door, but brushed it off without having any evidence of anyone being around. "It's just my nerves," she assured herself, running out of the apartment building and to the training grounds. The being within her apartment inspected first the safe, and then ventured after the pink-haired girl.

xXx

"Sakura-chan! Finally! We were going to give up on you!" Naruto called in glee when he saw his friend running over the hill to where he, Sai, and Kakashi were.

Sakura came to a stop and caught her breath. "Sorry. I told you I had to take care of something," she bent down at the waist and heaved in a couple of breaths. The necklace popped out of her half-open collar and dangled in front of her face.

Kakashi glanced away from his novel and regarded the strange necklace around his former student's neck, thinking it looked vaguely familiar. "Sakura?" said the jounin as he snapped his book closed. "What do you have there?" he flashed in front of her.

"Oh!" Sakura quickly shoved the necklace into her shirt. "It's nothing! C'mon, let's train!"

Kakashi gave her the single-eyed stare, and she knew that if she wanted to avoid eating dirt, she would have to show him. With much exaggerated effort, she hauled it back out but refused to undo the clasp. "See? Not important. Just something I picked up at the—"

"That's the Ryuukaton. It's from the Uchiha clan... Tell me, Sakura, how you could have gotten such an item?"

"Uh, well, you see, I was shopping in the streets and—"

For an instant, Kakashi, Sai, and Naruto were all there. The next, she was surrounded in a world that consisted only of black, red, and white colours. She was in the middle of the deserted Uchiha compound, the moon full in the red sky (or was it the sun?), and she could feel no breeze, no sound. Where was she?

Immediately, she began to fester chakra to her hands, but they were quickly diminished. "What!" she shouted. She ran down the abandoned streets, searching. "Where am I!"

"Tsukiyomi,"

That chilling, baritone voice froze her in place, or maybe whatever this world was had done that to her. She knew that voice. She knew this technique. She was stupid. She should have left the damned necklace, and now—

—now she was trapped in the Sharingan world, with Itachi for company.


	3. Thief?

**Author's note:** Hope this is to your satisfaction. I'm beginning to forge more ideas for this story more and more. Let's see how it all works out.

**Disclaimer**: Naruto's not my property. It's Kishimoto's. _Scream_ by Avenged Seven-fold is not owned by me.

xXx

_You know I make you wanna scream.  
>You know I wanna make you run from me baby,<br>but it's way too late you've wasted it all your time._

_That chilling, baritone voice froze her in place, or maybe whatever this world was had done that to her. She knew that voice. She knew this technique. She was stupid. She should have left the damned necklace, and now_—

—_now she was trapped in the Sharingan world, with Itachi for company._

What in the hell was Sakura going to do in this situation?

Stuck in the Tsukiyomi, everything either progressed rapidly, or extremely slow. Today, however, the clouds decided to take on a feel as if a light breeze were moving them ahead, but she failed to feel any sort of wind brush against her skin.

The pregnant moon that hung in the air stared back at her. It appeared as if the red, bloody sky was absorbing the world around it, eating up the street and the houses above it.

"Give me my birthright," a voice, beside her, in front of her, _all around her_ demanded.

Sakura backed away, frightened, summoning the chakra to her fists, but it dissipated automatically. When she heard a rustle of clothing and she shot to the left, immediately her hands searched for the kunai pouch on her right thigh. All her fingertips came in contact with was her skin. _My...my weapons..._

"I know you have it." The voice appeared again, seeming closer than before. "I want it."

Again, Sakura struggled to make sense of the world around her. Time seemed to slow. The whole scene before her began to shift, intermingling with each other and warping so it looked like a spiraling circle.

"It's on my neck!" she screamed, quaking in her boots. "Here!" she reached behind her neck to fiddle with the necklace's clasp...but her hands only felt the smooth material of her shirt and the tresses of her hair. "Wh-wha...it's...gone!" she groped herself excessively, finding no necklace. She was sure she removed it from the safe and placed it back on her neck! "I...I just had it! I don't know where it went... I—"She frisked herself, panicking, her throat closing when she realized that she had no weapons _and_ no necklace.

"Don't lie to me!" Sakura stumbled, lost her footing, and landed flat on her rear. Fear lanced through her whole body, immobilizing her, as she saw two large, blood red eyes staring back at her. They broke through the sky, and watched her with intensity, those black comma marks swirling and swirling and swirling... "You're in my world, and you will do as I say or you die. Now, where is it?"

Sakura couldn't find her voice. Petrified wasn't the right word for what she was feeling. Attempting to scramble to her legs, she rose unsteadily. "I...I had it...I could have sworn I put it back on when I left the apartment building..." she once again checked herself, assuring the very real truth that she was going to die because she couldn't give Itachi back his heirloom.

But she had one question for him.

"Why are you seeking it now? I've had it for so long!"

The eyes refused to blink, or to even shift in her presence. "Foolish. I've waited long enough. Now give it to me."

"I _told_ you!" she barked, feeling her energy begin to rise. "I don't _have_ it! I _thought_ I did, but I _don't_!"

The boldness she was experiencing vanished when the world around her did. Like a black hole, Itachi's eyes absorbed the world around her. When she opened her eyes, she wasn't sure if they were really open—darkness surrounded her. She could barely see the hand in front of her eyes.

Then, like someone turned on a light switch, the world around her illuminated, once more bathed in the three basic colours; white, black, and red. She was standing on a piece of wood, secured by other pieces, so from an angle it looked sort of hexagonal. In the center, however, was a cross which contained shackles. _That's not...for me...is it?_ Sakura didn't really want to find out.

_Now...how to get out of here._

"There is no escape."

Sakura jumped to one side, narrowly avoiding hitting Itachi's body. He stood tall, and dominating over her. She refused to look in his eyes, even if she was already trapped in the Sharingan world.

A sudden jolt shook her body, and when she looked around, she was no longer standing next to him, but she was hovered above the platform she previously stood on. "I'm..." She was shackled to the cross, and there was Itachi. He held one katana aloft in his hand, while he was submerged in a sea of katana. There had to be at least a hundred surrounding her.

"If you won't tell me where it is," he said, raising the katana, "then I'll have to force it out of you."

Sakura immediately writhed in her confines, but found no chance of breaking loose. "I don't have it! If I had it I would give it to you! Just—aaaah!" A million volts of electricity had lashed through her, and even before she realized that it had, in fact, been the katana piercing through her, there was another Itachi holding a katana.

"Tell me," the second Uchiha demanded. When she refused to give him anything but an answer to where it was, he inserted the katana straight through her sternum.

"Seventy-one hours and fifty-seven minutes to go." The third Uchiha stated while impaling her once more.

xXx

Three days had gone by. Sakura was completely covered from head to toe with swords. One hundred swords.

Itachi number-one hundred stared at the half conscious female. In the world of the Sharingan, he could not only control time, space, and matter, but he could control your state of consciousness, too. He had allowed her some vestiges of peace, but he never completely allowed her to submerge herself into darkness. That would not be the necessary means to retract the information from her.

_She's tough. She has four more minutes before my jutsu ends. Maybe this will be the time where she tells me where it is._

Just as he declared to her the time which she had remaining, and yet again asked where the location of his item was, Sakura denied the location of the whereabouts.

The jutsu broke. Sakura felt like a fraying rope being stretched taut until she snapped. When she could see the outside world again, she blacked out onto the floor.

Itachi peered down at the girl as she took one look at the surroundings, and then promptly fell on her face.

_She still hasn't told me_. Briskly, the Uchiha hoisted her up on to her shoulder. Without delaying, he deactivated his Sharingan. If he was going to interrogate her later he needed to reserve his strength. The jutsu took a toll on his eyesight, and even if the jutsu took off another year at sight, he would do anything to get his item back.

He walked through the gates of Konoha, and headed straight to Kirigakure.

xXx

Kisame looked to his partner skeptically. "_This_ woman has your sword? Are you certain, Itachi? I mean, she doesn't look like the type to _steal _from—"

"She has it. I know she does."

Kisame was quiet a moment. "Then...why didn't she hand it over when you tortured her?"

Itachi was silent, too. "I don't know."

The swordsman shifted in his seat, taking Sakura in, wondering how she could have ever stolen from the ninja that stood beside him for so long. "Itachi. I think you're wrong. No way she could have stolen it. I mean, _look_ at her." He gestured at her. "She doesn't have it. I can feel it."

Itachi regarded Sakura. "But she has the chakra it emits from the sword. There's no mistaking it. It's within her body."

Kisame had lost keeping track with what Itachi said a long time ago, but now he was intrigued. "In her body? What do you mean?"

Itachi pondered why he would explain this to his partner, sighed imperceptibly. "When you possess something that strong from the Uchiha clan, it either kills you once it detects that you are not an Uchiha, or your chakra combines with the seal that it has placed.

"Once it has merged with your chakra because of the seal, it behaves in a manner as if the user were an actual Uchiha. Therefore, I could sense the chakra in her, because it's taking over it. But now..."

"But what?" ventured Kisame.

Itachi looked unsettled. "I can't feel it any longer."

The swordsman sighed. Isn't that what he'd been trying to tell his partner all along? That this girl didn't possess it.

"Then why are you detaining her, if she doesn't have what you want?"

"She might know the location of it."

Kisame shook his head. There was just no arguing with this guy...

Itachi circled the cage in which he imprisoned this pink-haired thief. Whether she stole it or not was not the issue. What matters right now was the location of his sword. And when—or if—she would awaken long enough to tell him.

And, just as if she had heard him through her unconscious state, she looked at him with green eyes laced with fear.

"Where is my sword?" he demanded.

The kunoichi looked genuinely confused. She mumbled, "Sword? I...I thought you wanted..." then she blacked out again.

Kisame regarded her, wondering what in the world Itachi put her through. "Did you put her through seventy-two hours of torture?" he shook his head sagely. "She won't be talking for a couple of days, you know that."

Itachi was silent yet again. _Yes, I know. This is one of my first mistakes._

xXx

When Sakura came to six days later, she felt shittier than she had in her entire life.

When she noticed that she was shackled to a chakra suction-type machine, that didn't really bother her. When she recalled being in the Tsukiyomi for three straight days being tortured, when in reality it only lasted about three seconds, that didn't really bother her. And even when she remembered being accused of stealing Itachi's necklace - nope, scratch that, his _sword_ as he claimed - that didn't bother her a lot, either.

What was really bothering Haruno Sakura, however, was the fact that she had not showered in six days, eaten in six days, and had even a tiny sip of water in _six days!_

She figured that she thought of herself as strong willed to only be thinking of those few necessities she required, when she should be fearing for her life because an S-class criminal abducted her on account of stealing his _sword_.

But why did he think she had his sword? Shouldn't he be after the necklace?

Dazed and confused, she wobbled unsteadily to her knees, hunched over and heaving for breath. Her lips were cracked and dry, and her tongue felt like a lead weight in her mouth. Dehydration was a scary experience, and she was hoping that she might be able to curb its effects if she just told herself not to cry out the rest of the liquid she was storing.

So where is Itachi at? she wondered, trying to yank her hands free, but to no avail.

"H-hey...! Itachi!" talking seemed to bring on a whole other round of pain. "Itachi! I want water!" she bit her lip to keep from crying, but all that managed to do was break open one of her sores and squirt blood down her shirt.

_Oh, fabulous_.

Soon enough, the Uchiha appeared in front of her cell. "Yes?" he asked, sounding genuinely quizzical. Maybe he was just amazed that she was actually talking.

"I...I want water," she managed weakly. She hated how she sounded so feeble.

Sure enough, the man before her kicked in a bowel filled with delicious looking water. But she frowned. _This is probably not a good idea, but I'm not some dirt bag man who committed a foul crime. I want to drink out of a bottle, damn it, not lap up the water with my tongue like a mutt!_

"Can I have a water _bottle_?" she asked, and his red eyes squinted. "Uh...please?" her throat became hoarse, making her sound like an old man.

Itachi seemed to ponder the things that would benefit him if he got her a water, but relented. He flashed away, but reappeared, presenting to her a bottle, indeed, filled with water. He kicked that in as well.

_It's as if I'm a disease or something_, Sakura scowled, but nonetheless went to reach for the bottle, but stopped short when she remembered she was shackled. She gestured with her eyes to the stoic man. "Well?"

As if he hadn't heard her, Itachi disappeared.

_Fucking perfect._ She took her time deciding which she would drink from, and eventually relented and lapped up the water that was in the bowel. It tasted sweet and cold on her dry throat, and she welcomed the small satisfaction it brought to her fasting stomach.

When she was finished, she slumped against the cold metal bars, thinking of how soothing it felt on her feverish forehead. _Now get me a five-star meal and I'll be good to go, _she thought wearily, drifting back into unconsciousness.

She didn't fight it. Soon she was asleep on the floor.

Itachi watched the captive. _She's tough. But she'll have to be stronger if she doesn't tell me where my sword is_.

He vanished and reappeared in his quarters, wondering what kind of interrogation method he should try later on in order to crack her open.

xXx

"I have both of the items that you requested."

"Excellent. And the Uchiha?"

"Thinks the girl has it."

"Good...now, what I want you to do is set the girl up. Don't give him any reason to suspect us at all. If all goes according to plan...we could start another war."

"Yes, sir."

The thief took a moment to fondle the Ryuukaton in his fingers, smiling deviously to himself. _They'll never suspect it was me...the girl will die, and the world will then be ruled by me!_


	4. Misinterpretation

**Author's note: **Bad news. Leaving for exactly one month on Sunday, June 26th. I will try to upload as many as I can this weekend, but with prom and graduation ceremony...it'll be tight. If you really want to wait a month and allow me to finish this, I will. I appreciate the awesome reviews I'm getting from you guys. Hopefully this will be a story that you've been anticipating. I hope to live up to your expectations of this fic, but don't count on an update between this Sunday and July 27th. You guys have been awesome, truly.

**Disclaimer**: Naruto doesn't belong to me. _Break_ by Three Days Grace does not belong to me, either.

xXx

_Tonight, my head is spinning,  
>I need something to pick me up.<br>I've tried, but nothing is working,  
>I won't stop,<br>I won't say I've had enough._

Naruto stood outside of the training grounds, remarking on his excellent techniques that he'd just displayed to Sai, knowing that the next battle they embarked on would be his win.

Sai seemed skeptic. "I know all of your moves. You use the exact same format each time. Left, left, feign, left, right. It's all a pattern. It only took me a little while to decipher it."

Naruto bristled. He rose his hand to strike Sai's head, but decided against it as he crumpled into a little ball. "I know! I'm so predictable..."

Sai stared curiously at his crunched teammate, but said nothing. What he was thinking about was Sakura. _She left a little hastily...I read in a book that it usually means they're not happy about something_. But for the life of Sai, finding out what that _something_ was seemed harder than he thought. If he thought trying to tell whether Kakashi-san was joking or not was hard, figuring out the intricate dynamics of a woman's mind seemed nigh impossible.

"Cha! Let's go for something to eat, I'm _starved_."

Sai smiled, and he was pleased that it must have looked genuine, and acquiesed with his friend. Naruto walked with both hands wrapped behind his head, putting his nose first, waiting to catch the first whiff of Ichiraku Ramen.

Sai scoured the area of the market, not spotting Sakura anywhere. _I haven't seen her in more than a day..._ the Root-nin pondered as he continued down the gravel road, spying many street vendors and children playing and occassionally stealing from the displayed kiosks.

"Naruto-san?" Sai questioned, letting his black eyes sweep the crowd. "Is it usual for Sakura-san to be missing for a few days?"

Naruto appeared caught off-guard with his adversary's question, but he confirmed it. "Yeah, she's got stuff to take care of, too. Probably at the hospital, or up in the Hokage Tower, or at the spa. Eh, she could be anywhere. Ooh! There's the ramen I've been smelling all day!" Naruto bounded gaily after his meal. Sai stopped in his tracks.

_Normal you say..._ he took one last look around, certain he misinterpreted something in that novel he read. _Well, everything must be okay then._

xXx

Sakura was neither at the hospital or the spa. She was in hell.

She hadn't seen Itachi or that blue guy she swore she saw all day. The time of day was lost on her, but her body was insisting that it was bed time.

Ever since she had been trapped in the tsukiyomi, all she did was sleep. Her body was beyond depleted of its energy, and not twelve hours ago, moving her pinkie had been almost an unaccomplishable feat. Now, having gained tremendous amounts of mobility within her limbs, she had been able to sit herself up vertically against the cold wall and actually _breathe_.

_Okay, breathe...An S-class criminal claims you've stolen his necklace. But I don't necessarily _have_ his necklace. Therefore...I'm in a tough situation_.

She wondered when he would be coming back, because even though she appreciated eating her daily servings of fruits and vegetables, she wasn't in the mood for _raddish_ and _green string beans_. Some strawberries would've been considered a delicacy in her state.

If she even had desire to eat, she would have greedily downed the disguisting substances, but as it was, she had no appetite. Something about being tied up to chakra leaching shackles and forced to eat the vegetables she refused to even look at when she was little just didn't seem like a good time to worry about food right now.

She heard movement in the door outside of her room. She braced herself for whoever came through the door, and, to her dismay, it wasn't Itachi coming to demand her more about where his stolen item was. The blue guy, who she remembered his name to be Kisame, came through, looking huge, intimidating, and huge. Sakura had to readjust her eyesight at the enormity of him. Did she mention that he was huge?

She imagined that he was all muscle and no fat, thus proving that she would want to keep on his good side lest he turn her into a crushed can. The scales on the side of his blue skin looked like they were shriveled up, as if they were dehydrated. Vaguely, she wondered when the last time he had been swimming in the ocean with his shark friends.

His smile was jagged and pointy, and it sent a chill of fear through her bones. "You not hungry?" he gestured to the food.

Sakura didn't want to answer, but it seemed implied in his question. "No. I don't like it," she answered honestly, hoping that he would change the menu.

Kisame roared with laughter, hurting her sensitive ears as the sound reverberated off of the walls. "Itachi likes eating healthy. I don't particularly like this food. Hey, I'll get you a cheeseburger on my way out." He then resumed laughing, and as he took off out the door, Sakura's hopes plummeted when she realized he was just joking.

She sagged onto the floor, hating the way that the metal cuffs bit into her skin and left stinging welts. She could understand it, because she was a dangerous weapon, and had come a long way since she was twelve, but she could have killed for a little breathing room.

She was alone for another, she guessed, ten minutes. Boredom quickly settled. She counted the number of metal bars that encased her. Twenty-four. Three rows of eight. Boxing her in against a cement wall that contained seventy-two bricks from the roof of the room to the ground where she sat.

Her stomach growled obnoxiously, reminding her that even if the raddishes and the green string beans might not look and taste appetizing, it would curb her hunger for now.

She was just about to attempt and reach for the bowel by extending her leg and kicking it over to her, when a noise alerted her of a guest. Quickly, she retrieved her leg, relieved she had it back in time before her intruder decided to cut it off.

And, as if Kisame himself had done her a generous favour without knowing it, Itachi walked through the door unceremoniously. Sakura was readying her tongue for another 'you-did-it-no-I-didn't' battle, when she managed to notice that something white was held in his hands by his sides. She was beginning to ask about it, when he hurled it straight for her.

Reflexively, Sakura kicked the object away, and it deflty landed back to his feet. Itachi removed his eyes away from Sakura's startled ones, and scooped up the package.

"I'm sorry. Kisame put me under the impression that you liked cheeseburgers."

Sakura thought that her ears might be tricking her. Did he really just say he had a cheeseburger for her, and _she kicked it away?_

Not wanting to seem utterly desperate, she could only do so much to hide the anticipation in her voice. "Well, sorry, I didn't _mean_ to kick it back at you. I thought...um..." she trailed off.

"Do you want it?" he questioned her. It seemed like he was hanging a piece of meat over a drooling dog.

"Yes," she answered quickly.

"And I want my item. But I don't have it. So I don't suppose you will be getting anything that you require during your stay until I get what I want."

Uchiha Itachi left the cell room. Haruno Sakura was in shock.

One, her whole being shook from the way he spoke. It wasn't loud, by any means, but it carried the same meaning. _Give me my necklace, and you will have your freedom back._

Sakura couldn't figure out what to do. She wanted desperately to give him the necklace, but... somehow, someway, it slipped right through her fingers. She knew that she had never actually seen her friends; it had all been a trick, an illusion to lure her out into the open so that Itachi could trap her in his Sharingan realm and torture her. Sometimes, during that time where she was being tricked, the necklace had either fallen off or it had been taken.

But how...?

She wracked her brain over and over, trying to connect the dots. It must have been when she was running toward the training grounds and before she broke the genjutsu dome and entered through the illusional barrier, sometimes when she stopped to tie her shoe, or when she took that tiny break by the...

Sakura snapped upright, suddenly sure of when the necklace was stolen. That's the only way it would have been taken, the only window of opportunity, when she—

The door to her cell opened up, and Itachi entered once more, this time without the cheeseburger. His blood red eyes were beautiful, she had to admit. Nothing could compare to their compelling allure, even if it would be the last thing that you saw shortly afterwards.

This visit seemed more business-like than the previous one, and she was hoping that maybe he had finished battling with denial and come to terms with the fact that she possessed no necklace. The hard, chiseled look on his face was inscrutinable, making it difficult for her to judge the extend at which his limits were being pushed.

"Kunoichi," his whisper was a tenor in the darkness, "my patience, although long, is wearing short, and you're over-staying your welcome. You refuse to be nothing but defiant with me. You're making your experience here less and less welcoming. I suggest you put a stop to this juvenile manner and act as an adult."

Itachi walked coolly to the cell door, unlatched the lock with precise chakra control. It was like inserting a physical key to a lock, only the chakra, acting like a special key, opened the lock when the owner used it. Now, the lock fell to the ground unceremoniously in front of the Uchiha, and he stepped inside, reducing Sakura to a cowering ball in the corner.

"Well, kunoichi?" he asked her. She could literally _feel_ the physical power emanating from his body, merely ten inches away. _He's going to kill me!_ "Are you frightened? I figured as much that a kunoichi of your class and rank would not quake beneath me, merely challenge me." His eyes probed hers, and she could feel herself slipping beneath the lines of consciousness.

Taking a direct hit to her pride and confirming his beliefs, she shrunk back into a ball, willing this nightmare to cease. Normally, she _would _be defiant, and quite vocal, and proclaim to whoever could hear her that she would not give up and she would fight until she died.

Tonight, however, the energy that was required of such boldness did not meet her.

She was fatigued, hungry, and still scarring from the wounds Itachi left her in tsukiyomi. Yes, they may have been only illusion, but the pain was very, very real. And not only was she certain that he wounded her physically, but mentally she was drained.

"I have no energy to fight," she admonished softly, half-hoping he would not catch her admit of defeat.

Without preamble she was lifted to her feet. Her arms strained against the confines around her wrists, and as she tried to concentrate on not emptying her stomach contents on Uchiha Itachi, there was the matter that breathing was important.

Itachi's warm, calloused hand clutched her throat. He stared directly into her eyes. "Kunoichi. Do not tell me lies. I have seen you fight. I want to see your anger." He continued to prode her, but she was wondering when he would let off and figure out that she wasn't going to get riled up.

"If you do not wish to do _anything_, I know of a good place to send you to occupy your time."

Fear clenched her throat—at least, she assumed it was, and not the hand that held her aloft in the air.

"Let me go." Sakura could barely get the words past her lips; the air from her lungs rushed out of her when he suddenly dropped her to the floor. She bit back any whines or sounds of weakness as she rolled onto her tummy, refusing to let him have satisfaction over hurting her. "Thank you," she managed, wheezing.

"I could continue to torture you, if you would prefer. But telling me where my item is would be the more conventional route for you."

Finally, like a dam, the rage that had only been skimming the surface of her emotions broke free.

"_I DON'T HAVE YOUR FUCKING NECKLACE!_"

Silence was what Itachi gave her in return. She thought that maybe he wanted a little more anger, but when she parted her lips, he clamped a hand down on her mouth.

Roughly, he shoved her in the corner, demanding that she remain quiescent. When she finally settled down enough he removed his hand warily, and then told her to stay where she was and keep quiet. She wanted to tell him to shove it where it would hurt, but she bit her tongue, not trusting the alert look in his eyes all of a sudden.

He left her in the room by her lonesome. She supposed that it was all right—it was better than being accused of a liar. But...he hadn't replied to her denial. In fact, this was the first time that she openly told him that she didn't steal his necklace, and yet...

Maybe the necklace wasn't what he thought she had after all.

Sighing, she leaned against the cold wall yet again, thankful that it relieved her hot flushed skin. Being in close proximity with an Uchiha who slayed his clan and left his little brother in torment for his entire teen years...was not a smart idea. She was glad he decided to take his cue and leave then, but she could only imagine what would happen when the next act of his little play would come.

xXx

Itachi closed the door silently behind him. He leaned against its frame for a moment, closing his tired, sore eyes. Why had she mentioned a necklace, when what he sought after contained no such thing?

He didn't want to admit he was confused, but slightly misguided he surely was. Intriguing how she automatically assumed what he was looking for. A necklace? What could the Uchiha heir possibly hope to achieve with a necklace?

The man who had killed thousands of men bowed his head in thought. In one of his rare weaker moments, he allowed himself to deactivate his Sharingan, inspecting the damage that another complete twenty-four hours had done to his vision.

Everything around him was completely blurry. He could detect no definite shapes or angles, and he could tell that his depth perception was fading. He had little time to plan his next three moves, and with two already within his mind, he began to wonder yet again about the necklace the kunoichi mentioned.

As an idea dawned on him, he dismissed it immediately. _No, she would not possess the Ryuukaton. I would have sensed it immediately on her person. And no other person outside of the Uchiha estate knows of such an item and its power._ He was not going to mention the fact that it was lucky that he did not have to worry about other Uchiha revealing their most prized possession, but he knew it would only bring him more thoughts of the past in the end.

As the Uchiha reactivated his bloodline limit and ambled down the corridor, he wondered what would happen when he decided to remove the kunoichi from her current chambers and to something more fitting. After all, she obviously contained information which he was inclined to know. Giving her the accomusted accomodations would surely loosen her tongue.

The Uchiha could only marvel, however, had how fiery her spirit truly was when he entered his own bedroom for the evening.

xXx

"Ugh, damn seal," the thief inspected the Ryuukaton and its seal.

He had long ago forgotten the password to this item, for his days were supposed to be numbered on this earth, surviving age had been only one of the miraculous feats he had been able to accomplish.

Reading the ancient engravings yet again, he came to ponder how _he_ of all people would not be able to remember the security key. _Think..._ when he tried a word he thought might be the answer, he was greeted with yet another jolt of electricity that surged through his aging body. _Damn it, wrong again!_

The sword lay safely in its secure location, having already been broken of its seal. He knew that the seal on the sword and on the Ryuukaton should have been similar, because both contained very similar, almost undetectable chakra likeness, but so far, every attempt he made only brought him pain.

With a weary sigh he placed his object of interest down on the table, thinking it would be best to try fresh again in the morning. Maybe he would even dream of the password.

_With this sword, and when the code on the Ryuukaton has been unlocked, the kyuubi will only be a short distanceaway..._

He loved that name. Ryuukaton. He loved the meaning of it too, for it was named accordingly to the awesome power it possessed; Dragon Fire.

He knew how much of a genius he was. He knew Itachi would blame Sakura for taking his sword, because when he thought he was detecting the sword's energy, he was picking up on the Ryuukaton's energy instead. And with Sakura wearing the item for more than three years proved conclusive that it had bonded with her chakra and proved to him that she had owned it for some time.

Yes, what a brilliant plan it was. He only needed to waver the sword's mystic chakra right in front of Itachi's nose and send him straight for Konoha. He knew he would go after it. And, placing a tiny amount of chakra within the village, he staged the entire event. How easily the Uchiha and the tiny kunoichi fell into his web...

He planned on using the fire of the Ryuukaton to burn down Konoha. This same necklace would get the kyuubi for him. The sword would grant him power unimaginable. And as for the other nations...

He smiled deviously to himself, wondering what the world would look like, erupting in flames, everyone screaming...indeed, it was a miraculous sight.

xXx

Somewhere within Konoha, Naruto sneezed.

"Damn it, someone's thinking about killing me again!"


	5. Tea in the Devil

**Author's note:** I know they're coming in back-to-back, but I want to leave you guys with something before heading off. Once again, thank you for supporting this fic. I hope you will support once I get back. And if anyone gets my 'I'm on a boat' reference, I applaud you.

**Disclaimer: **Naruto does not belong to me. _Dance with the Devil_ by Breaking Benjamin does not belong to me.

xXx

_Say goodbye,  
>as we dance with the devil tonight.<br>Don't you dare look at him in the eye._

Itachi came through Sakura's chamber doors. She roused, barely awake, but awake enough to remember who she was dealing with. She stared back at him coldly, unwilling to wilt under his glare. _Now she's got her spark back,_ he thought amusedly.

"Get up. I'm moving you to another cell."

"What? One with a castle and a mote filled with hungry crocodiles?" she murmured under her breath, and he assumed she thought that he could not hear her jovial retort.

"If you wish to remain here, by all means I will not stop you. I thought you would be more accomodated within an actual bedroom. Excuse me for thinking of your condition." Did Sakura detect _sarcasm_, or was she just under another genjutsu spell? That cold exterior he called a face couldn't assure her of either assumptions, so she allowed him to unbind her cuffs from the wall.

He checked to make sure her reserves were low enough for her not to put up a fight, and then motioned her to follow behind him. He held the chain that connected to her wrists in his hands, like he were walking a dog. _I can be a bitch, yes, but this is unneccessary._ Nonetheless she didn't utter a sound. _It seems that maybe I can take a break from the cliched cold cellar dungeon._

She refrained from giggling at her own stupid jokes, but she couldn't resist the contorted look of her face when she tried to squelch her laughter. Itachi simply guided her along the long passageway, giving her ample time to sum up where exactly he had taken her.

_This must be an abandoned ship or something. There are red lights all over and I see no natural light coming through._ Curisoity gnawed at her. She looked for objects to satisfy her thoughts, but she couldn't find anything concrete to tell her if they were indeed within a ship.

Itachi took her through a doorway, and again she was greeted with rows upon rows of bunkers. _Yeah, this has to be a ship. And these are the guest chambers, I assume_. Who knew that the Akatsuki would infiltrate a five-star cruise ship?

Itachi ushered her through another narrow doorway, and she saw there was a faded sign on the door. She had no time to stop and read before he gestured toward a closed door in front of him. "This will be your room," he told her quietly. He opened the door and lead her inside.

She was expecting to have one of the rooms that most of the poor people would sleep in, but what greated her was an extravagant site. There had to be a king sized bed sitting in front of her, covered with soft, warm looking comforters and quilts with massive size pillows bigger than Kisame's head. The room itself wasn't much of a splendor, but the bed sold Sakura.

Now, she knew there would only be one reason why he would let her have this nice room. "What do you want for this?" she questioned, hoping that it had something to do with the whole necklace situation. _Take a break and come out of the gutter sometime, Sakura,_ she chastised herself internally.

"First, let me remove your cuffs."

Sakura felt hope swell within her gut. _If he removes them I can hoard my chakra and finally get out of here!_ But he seemed to have a tendency for squashing all of her hopes and dreams.

"Before I remove them, I will be placing a chakra sensory on one of your chakra points. This will alert me of the amount of chakra you are using, and how much is being stored in your body, and when you are charging for an attack. By any means, you can try to remove it, but it is impossible. And, if you so try to attack anyways, your chakra passageways will be sealed automatically and you will pass out shortly after. I suggest you behave and spare yourself the grief afterwards."

Did Sakura mistaken it, or had Itachi almost _winked_ at her? _Okay, you need sleep, and not the kind that involves a cold floor and restrained limbs._

She waited in anxiousness as he first raised his index finger to her left shoulder. She could feel more than see the thrumming of the chakra he concentrated to his tips, and with three precise and controlled movements he hit first her shoulder blade, her temple, and her chest. It felt like she might have been stabbed three times, but she refused to look like she was in pain.

Itachi was only a little impressed. She showed control, but she had yet to master the facial expressions and her body's responses to stimulis. Sakura coughed only a little, but regained her composure quickly.

"That didn't even tickle," she joked, not putting much effort into it.

Itachi silently removed the cuffs that bound her wrists, and as the warm, grating metal slipped off of her chaffed skin instant relief greeted her. She rolled her wrists around, hoping that she could at least use them. Keeping a limb in one place for too long restricts the blood flow and causes it to become numb. But she was glad to see that her hand would be making a full recovery soon enough.

"I take it that this is much more comfortable for you?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, it is. Thank—" she stopped herself short. _Was I about to _thank_ an S-class criminal who put me here in the first place!_ Sakura smiled hastily and said, "I mean, this is much better."

Itachi knew her reason for not thanking her and paid no attention. He turned and said over his shoulder, "I want to talk to you. I will be up three floors, and in the first door on your right. I wish to see you before sunset. You will be able to tell that night is approaching when you see the yellow light in the hallway turn on. Until then, I hope you are satisfied with your new room."

When he left, she stood there for a moment, nursing her wounded wrists. She wondered what would happen if she attempted to heal the minor cuts around her wrist. Chancing having him coming back in and taking back the priviledges he gave her was risky, but it would be cumbersome to have the wounds remain while she actively used her hands.

Knowing she wouldn't find out until she tried, she summoned only a miniscule amount of chakra to the tips of her fingers and placed them over her cuts. When she still felt like she wasn't going to be travelling to the Sharingan world, she pursued, eventually healing all the tiny cuts and abrasions on her left hand.

She moved to her right and she sensed someone was outside of her room. In a lame attempt to hide her secret, she brought her healed hand behind her back, wondering if Itachi was going to come in and punish her.

To her relief—and fright—Kisame stood outside of the door with a toothy grin. Damn, she'd been caught red handed.

"Already pushing your luck? You're stupid to try it, kunoichi. You're fortunate that Itachi has permitted a suitable amount of chakra to be used at certain times. Healing your right hand will alert him of suspicious activity." He wagged an obnoxious finger at the hand she used to hide her healed one.

"Well, um..." Did she say thank you to him, too? Or was this where she just stopped thanking all of the people who kidnapped her and demanded to get out? "The information is very helpful," she evaded.

Kisame chuckled. "Did he tell you anything about your restrictions?"

"Other than about chakra? No."

"Figures," the shark nin rolled his eyes. "Anyways, second floor and bottom floor are off limits. The doors that lead to them are chakra sealed anyways, so you won't be able to get through anyhow. The third floor is accessible to you, I suppose. There is a kitchen up there, too."

Sakura nodded her head, reminding herself to find a way to break into those restricted rooms later. "Tell me, are we on a boat?"

Kisame nodded. "It doesn't operate anymore, so we're at a peer that's been abandoned as well." He noted the flicker of hope in her jade eyes. "Don't get smart, kunoichi. You can't be stupid to believe that we haven't sealed all exits to you."

Sakura scowled, knowing it was small, but there was a way to break out. What that way was right now, she didn't know, but she made it her goal to find out what it was, along with the forbidden floors.

"Yeah, I figured," she finally sighed. Kisame wasn't any less intimidating or scary looking, but she found that talking to him eased her mind a little. It was better than bickering with Itachi. Speaking of which... "Do you have any idea why he wants to speak with me tonight?"

The glint in his beady eyes told her he did, but she doubted he'd let on. "Well, I have an idea," he said, "that it might be about the little stunt you pulled earlier. Whoo, Itachi was _not_ in a happy mood after that."

Stunt? She didn't—oh, yes, the mix-up about the two objects that they had been talking about earlier. Still, it nagged her. What would he expect her to have that was his if it wasn't the necklace she had? What other items did Itachi seek after? Wasn't he strong enough?

Sakura began to nibble on her thumbnail absently, Kisame witnessed with some amusement. She was going to be a little tough to deal with, he could tell. He certainly hoped Itachi was up for the challenge of her.

"So, why are you here then?"

The kunoichi had the gall to ask _him_ of his stationment here? He laughed. "Girly, don't be asking _me _those questions." He told her. "But I normally travel with him. He's got something I want, and until he gives that to me, I basically follow him around and do what he wants until he might feel the need to give up what he stole."

Sakura had the feeling that she was being told too much, but she didn't bother to stop him. In a way, Kisame was in the exact same position Itachi was with her. But, unlike Itachi, he could surrender the item back to his partner. She had no idea where hers was.

"Kisame," Sakura said quietly. The shark-nin raised his head. "Would you be able to show me where his room is?"

"Oh, he didn't tell you that either?"

"I'm afraid not."

The swordsman stretched and yawned hugely, beckoning her forward. Sakura stayed closely behind him, sampling every item in the narrow corridor within eyesight, studying, waiting for a clue to show her the way out. As she approached the spiraling staircase with her company, Sakura noticed a telltale sign of an Exit door just a floor below this one.

She stored that in her memory and ascended the staircase, again searching for any signs of windows or other doors, but finding none until both of them reached the third and final floor. Kisame made a show of making arrows with his arms straight to Itachi's room.

"That's where the devil sleeps. I'm leaving you on your own now, you hear kunoichi?"

Sakura stopped outside of Itachi's door, smiling at Kisame coyly. "Sakura." She disappeared through the door.

Kisame stood in the hallway a few seconds, wondering what Itachi planned to do with a girl who had nothing that he wanted. And he tried to tell him but the stubborn Uchiha wouldn't budge, because he was determined to prove she had his sword.

He wondered what else she might have that Itachi might have mistaken, but quickly dropped the subject. This was none of his business. His business with Itachi, though they had been partners for more than five years, still was focused on the precious item that he kept away from Kisame.

_And once I find it I'll rip his god damn throat out..._

With that sobering thought Kisame trekked across the boat's corridor and toward the kitchen.

xXx

Sakura stood outside of the doorway, smiling at Kisame, "Sakura," she told him.

She had exactly one moment to think one thing before entering Itachi's room. _I wonder if this is considered suicide._

When she poked her head in, her conscience reminded her to knock, so she rapt softly on the wooden door before stepping another foot within his chambers.

His room looked almost identical to hers, only the bed was pushed up against the far right instead of the left. His interior decorating had a bit more taste to hers, an orange theme that dressed the beds and adorned the walls and carpets. Orange was definitely not the colour Sakura imagined to be Itachi's favourite colour. Somewhere between red and black she assumed would be the guess, but she was wrong.

She spotted no Itachi. _Hm_. The room was only thirty feet by forty feet, so where would a ninja hide in such a small room when she had been told to come here?

Letting her curisoity get the better of her she snuck within and left the door ajar. She heard the door creak when she opened it, so knew that when he eventually came in as well she would know. Sakura wasn't much of a snoop, but when her nose caught the scent of something interetsting...

She spotted a miniature bookshelf beside the bed next to the wall. She scanned through, reading the spines. All classical and well-rounded novels. As she continued to peruse, she caught sight of a couple of comic books. _Comic books? Really? Must've stolen them from a little kid before he_—

Sakura didn't allow the thought anymore room to grow.

She quickly gave up on looking at his books and began looking at his small dresser. Nothing sat on it. No memorabilia. No reminders of anything. She didn't think that an S-class criminal would condone personal family reminders, but she had to admit, finding out that he indeed possessed no heart didn't assure her the way she thought it would.

Next, she ventured over to the collossal bed. She bent down on her knees, which were still stiff from not moving for a day or two, and lowered her nose to the floor, peeking underneath his bed. Nope. Empty. Just like his soul.

She lifted her face off of the ground, drawing herself up so she could stand, and promptly sneezed. When she finished wiping the tears that budded in her eyes, she noted that there didn't seem to be two long black pillars in the center of the room before.

Itachi glowered down at her. No, they were not pillars, but the legs of a very dangerous ninja who was about to kick the shit out of her.

"I-I'm sorry! I was, I was just—" she gave up. There was no excuse. He caught her dirty-handed. Now she would have to pay the price. She hoped he would just send her back to her previous 'bedroom' and leave her be. But she never even heard the door creak?

"I told you to wait until the yellow light turned on. But did you still wish to discuss important matters with me, or have you lost something underneath of my bed?" his tone was mocking, but if she wasn't mistaken she detected a note of _playfulness_?

Reprimanding herself for thinking such a thing, she awkwardly got to her feet and stared down at the floor, nibbling on her thumbnail. She resembled a perfect image of a child, but Itachi could see through that illusion. He was, after all, the master of them.

"Come, sit. Would you like tea?"

_What? Next we'll be wearing dresses and serving Kisame some cookies?_ Sakura wasn't doing well with filtering out ideas that weren't contributing to her escape today.

Not wanting to be rude, she accepted his offer.

Itachi disappeared out of the room once more and she found a comfortable looking chair over in the corner by his dresser. There was a stool off to the far right of that, and she grabbed both, placing them in the center of the room. She sat on the stool, not wanting to get killed over potentially taking his favourite chair.

Itachi returned with a tray. He set it down on his dresser, then retrieved the folding table. He took a seat and began pouring the tea into Sakura's cup. Sakura stared into the black liquid, wondering why she agreed. Sakura blushed when realized she was watching Itachi taking a long, deep drink from his tea cup. His chin and cheekbones were defined, slender, but no trace of feminity within them. She stared back at her own cup, suddenly feeling unsure.

_Ugh, tea...well, suck it up princess._ She was about to raise the glass to her lips when Itachi stopped her. Puzzled, she noticed that he was standing again and moving toward her. For a fleeting moment Sakura panicked, wondering what she might have done wrong. _Did I forget to lift my pinkie?_

Itachi stood beside her, close, close enough for her to feel his heat. Her cheeks and neck flushed.

"Go sit on that seat, kunoichi. You will be more comfortable."

Sakura's tongue flailed in her mouth. "Umm...no, it's all right. I'm comfortable. Y-you can...uh, stay there, it's—eeik!"

She jumped up from her chair when Itachi did something to her arm. It stung just a little but it was quickly fading. All that was left was a small patch of whitened skin. _Did...did Itachi just _pinch_ me? What is this, academy school?_

It effectively got her up and over to the other chair, however. Itachi took the stool and stood perfectly upright. He might have forgotten to switch the tea cups. He took a drink from hers, and Sakura looked down at his, momentarily forgetting about being pinched.

He had already taken a drink from his. She didn't want to be rude, but... _his lips had been all over it, _the inner part of her mind confirmed this fact for her. _Well, at least I know it's not poisonous, but..._

"Is there a problem?"

The young medic could only think of so many things at one time, and she was learning that there were so many enigmas that was Uchiha Itachi and definitely not enough time to sit and contemplate them all.

"No, no problem. I just..." she stared back down at her cup. "I'm just not much of a tea drinker, is all."

Itachi looked genuinely surprised. "Oh, my apologies. Is there anything you would like to drink instead?"

Sakura would feel foolish for asking, but Itachi was being so hospitable lately... "Um, diet Coke please?"

The lines on Itachi's face, the ones that told his whole childhood, seemed to soften at her request. Was it just Sakura, or did it seem he had an array of masks that he could pick and choose from whenever he liked. Right now, being with him and drinking tea, it seemed he put the _I'm a nice guy_ mask on him. Earlier, when she refused to tell him nothing but the truth, he had the _I'm going to be the tough interrogation guy_ mask on.

She was so wrapped up in her own diagnosis of Itachi's numerous facial expressions that when she peered up to look back at him, he held the cold can beverage in his hand out to her. Timidly, she took it from him, surprised it was chilled. _Where did he get this? _She couldn't imagine the Akatsuki carrying Diet coke with them. It seemed ridiculous.

"Now, discussing the...miscommunication we had earlier today," addressed Itachi, watching as Sakura opened the can and downed half of it in one thirsty gulp.

"Yes, about that..." she finished her can, refusing to belch in front of the Uchiha. _Manners, Sakura._

"You had stated you had held a necklace on your person. Tell me, exactly, what this necklace is, and why you might think I want it?"

Sakura wasn't sure where to start. She could begin with Sasuke leaving her for power, and then work her way up from there. Or, she could tell him as little as possible and let him fill in the blanks for her. Her gut was telling her to omit the part containing Sasuke, allowing him to tell her that himself.

"Well, I remember having the necklace when I was around twelve. I don't know where it came from, or what it was, I just...came upon it." It was mixing lies and truths into a seamless cloth, and she thought she was doing well. "I just wore it. It looked nice, so..."

"What did it look like?"

She was worried about this. How much should she tell him? All of it? He wouldn't believe her if she said she couldn't remember, because she claimed to have just had it before he captured her. How would she weasel her way out of this one?

Finding nothing else to use, she used the truth. "It had a flame in the middle of it shaped out of a ruby. The other jewels were sapphires and diamonds."

Itachi's eyes imperceptibly widened. She definitely had his attention.

"Do you recall seeing if there were any engravings on the other side of the necklace?" he was doing his best to keep his voice even, but it was showing that he was anxious to find out.

This part Sakura decided to keep to herself for a time being. "I'm sure there wasn't anything there. I would have remembered it." The lie left her lips easily. Itachi appeared to believe her.

"Oh, well, maybe that isn't what I was looking for." His posture slumped a little.

Sakura found this a good opportunity to question him about what he thought she meant. "What did you think I had?"

Itachi's head was spinning with various scenarios to Sakura's story that he almost didn't answer her question. "I thought that you had another item of mine. It is quite powerful, and has been missing since late fall."

That had been about six months ago. Right around the time when the Akatsuki had been spotted near Iwagakure, rampaging a village. Did he bring something with him that had been stolen?

"If you wish to return to your quarters, you may. If you want to stay here a little longer, I won't say no."

Sakura shook her head dismissively. "I'm going to turn in. I've had a long day." Placing her tea back on the tray, she paused outside of his door, wondering whether she should ask him. "Uh, good night, Itachi." Odd, she mused, to be saying good night to a criminal.

"Good night to you as well, kun—"

"Sakura," she told him before she left.

Itachi smiled slightly to himself. He had come close to finding out if she had been having his sword with her before, but now he was certain she had once had the Ryuukaton with her. She had lied quite convincingly, but there was one thing that tipped him off about it.

He could still feel its chakra pulsing through her veins.

Questioning her about it would have to wait until later, however, because now he knew for certain where she had gotten the item.

He gathered his things and turned in for the night as well. Sighing, he touched his aching forehead, knowing that it didn't make a difference if he closed or left his eyes open before going to bed. Darkness was always there for him.

He turned over and fell into a fitfull sleep. Unbeknownst to him, a spider creeped up onto the silky sheets and travelled to his naked shoulder. There, it sank its tiny mandibles into his flesh, drawing blood.

All Itachi felt was a tiny pinch. He squashed the bug and returned back to sleep.


	6. Grand Escape

**Author's note:** Hey, guys. Three chapters in less than twelve hours? I know, right? Anyways, from staying up at three last night to write the other two, here's the sixth chapter. I'm not complaining; I just want you guys to have the chapters. Feedback is appreciated. If there is anything you would like to comment on, review. Questions? Review. I will answer all of them. Thank you for your reviews.

**Disclaimer: **Do not own Naruto. _Falling Away from Me_ by Korn does not belong to me.

xXx

_Day, is here fading,  
>that's when I'm insane.<br>I flirt with suicide;  
>sometimes kills the pain.<em>

When Sakura woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and energized, she was happy to find that her chakra resources had fully restored. She felt better than most mornings. So she decided to keep the lingering thought of being trapped upon a boat to herself until she could fully wake up, she was feeling pretty good.

Then reality crashed down on her.

_I wonder if they've noticed that I haven't come back yet..._ she cleared the thought from her head, focusing instead of going through her wake-up routines. She wished she had some black coffee to start the day off. Then she remembered about the kitchen on the third floor. When she began to leave the room, an object caught her eye. In the corner, upon her empty bed, had a set of clothes for her to wear.

She picked up the shirt, which was a size too big for her but it looked like it would do the trick. It was a simple black colour wih a kanji symbol stitched into the side that she didn't recognize. She stripped herself of her clothing, which was covered in grime and sweat stains, and tossed them on her stool, reminding herself to find someplace to launder her clothes.

The fresh clothes she adorned smelled washed, so she knew there was some place with a washer and dryer. There was no mirror to inspect herself—probably to prevent her from making a weapon out of it—so she did her best in trying to fix her hair up before leaving the room in search for food.

Her stomach was eagerly awaiting sustenance, and the fact that she was almost there seemed to make infinity last longer. As Sakura ascended the stairs, a crazy idea popped into her mind. _This will probably get me killed, but..._ she focused her chakra to her left hand, feeling that reassuring thrum of energy that was her own come alive at her command.

She began to heal her other wrist, ridding it of scabs and blood, leaving behind smooth flawless skin. But she felt rather different after. There had been no chakra limit to which she pulled from. She pondered, _could this be a test?_ but quickly discarded that idea.

There seemed to be nothing holding her back.

Continuing up the stairs, allowing the idea to brew, she passed by Itachi's room without so much of a glance. She could smell an alluring aroma steaming from the kitchen, which lead her straight to the large expansive room. It was an entire cafetorium, which lacked windows but made up for it with dozens of lights scattered on the ceiling. Kisame sat behind the buffet line, eating a sloppily thrown together egg, bacon, and sausage sandwich.

"And you survived," said the shark-nin between bitefulls. Sakura had to admit, watching Kisame eat was one of the weirdest things she had ever seen in his life. And, true to the statement of sharks, every few bites or so lodged another long and pointy tooth into his meal. "Mom always said I was losing more than just my teeth," he chuckled, throwing his tooth into the garbage can, "but never believed her."

Sakura imagined Sasuke's mother laying the eggs, and his dad fertilizing them.

"What are you doing out here, anyways?"

"I'm getting something to eat," she replied. Sure, she sounded casual, and her steps and motions were collected and smooth, but inside she was in total fear. "I'm starving."

Kisame could tell that the girl was hiding what she was truly feeling; undeniable, animal fear. He hardly blamed her, but he had to admit, somehow she got herself into this mess, even if it turned out to be a mistake. He certainly didn't _try_ to intimidate people, but he was no stranger to the effects he held over others simply by being in the room with them.

He absently wondered why he hadn't seen his partner yet this morning, but quickly went back to eating.

Watching the kunoichi do her normal routine was fascinating. She was completely zoned out. She poured the coffee beans into the coffee maker without so much of a blink. Everything was methodical. She was trying to take her mind off of being in the same room with him.

_Heh, maybe that's what's been keeping her alive all this time._

When the coffee finished brewing she sat opposite of Kisame. He noted she had guts, but he wouldn't play mind tricks with her just yet. He was too tired, too hungover, and it was just too early for this sort of banter.

"Where is Itachi at?" the medic inquired, never looking up from her cup.

Kisame shrugged, finishing his meal. "Donno. He never came out of his room as far as I know,"

Sakura contemplated this in silence. Kisame inserted his dishes in the now full diswasher and let it run its course. He was about to leave, but some kind of premonition hit him. He had the feeling that something was wrong, and the more he thought of it, the more he had a feeling Sakura was involved, too.

He left the room, and went to search for his comrade.

Sakura exhaled loudly. She had been keeping her composure as best as she could, but now that the shark-nin was gone, she truly felt at peace. She was able to finish her coffee and her sad excuse for an egg sandwich with no disturbances. Depositing her dishes in the sink, she began to head back to her room.

The wheels in her head were turning. _No Itachi...he might just be away...far enough away that I can finally get out of here._

If she was going to do this, she would do it right. Every moment that was available to her she needed to make sure it all went according to plan. If she fumbled, she'd be back in the downstairs cellar. She shivered at the thought.

With Kisame out and about somewhere, she traveled down the hallway, half-way to Itachi's room. The door had been closed the first time she had come up for breakfast half an hour ago, and she thought he was either asleep or gone. But now, knowing that not even Kisame knew where he was, the thoughts of escape were becoming addicting to her.

She brushed swiftly passed Itachi's chambers. Sakura thought she would be in the clear. The Exit door would be her ticket out of here. She would get rid of any traps set by those two now that she had all of her chakra back.

Except something stopped her.

From inside of the bedroom, a low moan wheedled its way into her eardrums.

_What in the world...?_ she couldn't just ignore it. It was Itachi. Something had happened to him. But what was she doing just standing here! She should have been high-tailing it out of this ship and back home to Konoha, not...

Before she could stop herself she was in Itachi's bedroom. The sight before her shocked her. Itachi lay on his back, naked from the waist up, with his hair strewn all about the pillow, some of it sticking to the feverish flesh on his skin.

Sakura rushed over to him, noticing how glassy his eyes looked. He was conscious, but barely—he was hanging on by a thread, but soon, if he didn't get treatment now...

Without thinking, she touched her fingers to Itachi's chest, commanding her newfound chakra to intrude into his body and find the source of the accident. After some probing, she discovered the problem. She didn't ask his permission when she flipped him onto his side in one fluent motion. Her eyes caught site of a large swelling mound above his right shoulder blade. It oozed out puss and was as red as his Sharingan. From the two pin-holes for entries, Uchiha Itachi had gotten bit by a nasty spider.

But what should she do? Her ticket to escape was four floors down, but this man was dying in front of her. Her medical ninja within her urged her to stay and heal him, but the rational ninja told her that she could forget about all of that and go home.

Conflict happened, and it brought much confusion. Slowly, almost like she was in a trance, she began leaving Itachi's bedroom and fleeing down the staircase two by two. Not caring if she alerted Kisame, it was obvious Itachi was in no state to monitor her chakra holdings, which is why she had such a generous amount in the first place.

Finally, she made it to the forbidden floor that concealed the Exit door. Not stopping to look back over her shoulders for pursuers, Sakura took both hands and wrenched the door open. Hesitation wasn't in her vocabulary—she dove out of the door and into the bottomless depths of the ocean.

As her body hit the water in the needle-like position, she caught site of the dock not too far away. Determined, she swam hard against wave after wave, judging they were somewhere far to the East if they were by the ocean. With all of her chakra back she easily chopped through the waves, coming upon shore.

With no time to rest, she sprinted into the unknown. The fog was so dense and abundant she had to use parts of her chakra as feelers to see ahead of her. She twisted through street upon street as she now recognized to be a village, twisting and turning and navigating her way through until eventually she felt the woods.

Sakura raced toward it, smelling freedom, smelling home. Her mind never once thought of Uchiha Itachi and his dibilitating condition. The dirt on the souls of her bare feet kicked up behind her as she hauled her body through the dense forestry.

xXx

Kisame noticed that something had gone _very_ wrong upon entering his room.

One; he could hear the kunoichi navigating down the hallway, stopping just before Itachi's door.

Two; she actually went _in_ the door.

Reminding himself that it was none of his business, he went to take out his Samehada and maybe do some training out in the desolate village. It had been a little while, and he always needed to fine tune his abilities.

He had almost completely forgot about the girl until he heard her hauling ass down the staircase.

Immediately he took off after her, but stopped when he noticed the door to Itachi's room was wide open. He burst inside, witnessing his partner wheezing and sweating on top of the sheets. He was turned on to his side, and from that angle Kisame had a clear view of the bite mark on his shoulder.

"Damn it!" cursed the swordsman. He approached Itachi closer, wondering if he was able to tell him how he had gotten this bite, but he noticed that there didn't seem to be anything being taken in by his eyes. They were completely black and unseeing. Itachi stared straight ahead, oblivious to Kisame's presence.

_The girl couldn't have done this, could she..._ He thought better of it. He could now see that there were two puncture holes in Itachi's shoulder. _A spider bit him? And now he's like this...this can't be good._

He knew that if he wanted to keep Itachi alive, finding that medic and forcing her to heal him was in order. He went back to his room and grabbed his Samehada, rushing down the steps and to the door where he noticed had been flung wide open.

_She could have only done that if she had her chakra. That means whatever Itachi did to her isn't working anymore. Aw, shit._

Kisame hurled himself out of the door, not fearing the water as he crashed down into the waves himself. He swam easily to shore, concentrating on where his little kunoichi might've gone. He picked up a faint trace, indicating that she had stood exactly where he had not too long ago. In a fluid motion he unsheathed Samehada, allowing his chakra-absorbing weapon to get a taste of the kunoichi's chakra.

Samehada appreciated the delicacy, and alerted his master right away to the direction in which she had fled. Kisame followed the trail hotly, telling himself that if he allowed Itachi to die, he would never get what he wanted from him back.

xXx

Sakura skulked amongst the thick foliage, hiding her cover. She managed to mask some of her chakra, knowing that Kisame must be tailing her by now, but she needed to use a minimal amount to get as far away from that ship as possible.

She estimated that her grand escape had been two hours ago, and with no sign of sharky, she rested for a moment. Her hands were shaking tremulously from the fear, and her legs were contracting and protesting against the fast pace she set for herself earlier. All in all, she was alive and finally away from that place. Now she could work on tracking the route to Konoha.

Unfortunately for her, she wouldn't be able to pinpoint the exact direction of the way to Konoha until dusk. There was a star in the sky that her mother had told her, sort of like the Northern Star, which would always lead her South to the Fire Country. But she would have another eight more hours before thinking about looking for it, so settling for making camp was in order.

She found a convenient little patch of dried leaves (really, everything was completely damp thanks to the thick fog and the moisture, so it was a miracle) and brought them over to the rock she had spotted earlier that was caved in enough to grant her shelter above her head. She spread out her makeshift bed and deemed it satisfying.

Next, she hunted for firewood. Tearing off tiny bits of trees at a time she had enough to bring a small fire to her feet to warm her. Without wanting to alert Kisame anymore of her presence she found a piece of flint and began to work on it, finally catching a spark, and soon the fire began to burn brightly.

Her stomach was growling pitifully, but she told herself to rest for a moment before scouring for food. Who knows? Maybe Kisame would run into her. Holing up and taking refuge was a smart idea, so she could allow her persistent tummy some time before satiating its hunger.

Her eyelids felt droopy. She began to think. _What had bitten Itachi? A spider? But what sort of spider could bring on fever and cold sweats in less than twelve hours?_ She began browsing through her memory. trying to come up with the correct name for it. A Redback spider. She had heard of it before, but never actually saw one in Konoha before. She remembered that it brought on nasuea, vomitting, sweating, fevers, muscle pain, and if not treated within a few hours of the bite, it could kill a child. Within another couple of hours, a fully grown adult.

Sakura banished the idea out of her head. There was _no way_ she was going to help him, not what he did to her. Calling her a liar, a thief. No, she wouldn't go back if her life depended on it.

But no matter how much she tried her mind continued to wander off course, always wondering how much longer Itachi must have before the venom spread completely through his system, and eventually would land him into cardiac arrest. By the size of the bite and the symptoms he had displayed before her, he might have until dusk before he began to have a heart attack, or a stroke.

The fire before her blazed, and she fed it more sticks. She sighed. What was she going to do? Her mind was made up; she wouldn't go back to help him. But the medic in her was screaming, telling her that she treated the wounded, not abandoned them. She wondered if the medical side of her knew it was a patient that had killed thousands without a blink, and even his own family. But it didn't seem to make a difference to the tiny voice growing in her head.

Sleep was beckoning her, even though it was pure daylight. Her body didn't seem to care what time of day it was.

Figuring that she had some time before Kisame caught up with her, she foolishly rolled up into a little ball and closed her eyes, thinking that she would not go back to Itachi, and wondering where Sasuke was.

xXx

Samehada told him she was hiding fifty yards ahead of him.

It had taken a lot longer to find her than he had first thought. He wasn't sure as to why, but Samehada seemed to always become confused whenever he tasted the chakra that lingered in the air. He would tell him that yes, it was Sakura's chakra, but then he would internally battle with himself, convincing itself that it wasn't, and yet it was.

Either way, after spending six long hours playing hide-and-seek with his sword and that damn kunoichi, Kisame now knew where she was hiding. She didn't move, which meant she was probably alseep, giving him ample time to snatch her away.

_She _must_ heal Itachi. I'll slit her throat and watch her slowly bleed out if she doesn't come back and heal him._

He decided that stealth may be a little dramatic, so he rushed head-first toward her location. She only stirred when he picked her up by the throat and dangled her off of the ground._ Gotcha!_

"Ah! Let me go!" she tried to kick out of his grasp, but he kept firm hold on her. His bicep cut into her throat, cutting off her air.

"You're coming back, kunoichi. Itachi is dying and I will _not_ let him."

"Go to hell!" she summoned chakra to her fist and punched at his arm that was around her. With a yelp Kisame released her. Samehada was intriguid.

He began to chase her, knowing she couldn't escape him, not with her chakra already recognized by his sword. Kisame caught up with her quickly enough, and he reached into his cloak and threw a tiny ball at her which hit her back. Automatically the little ball expanded into a huge net, and she toppled forward, the net ensconcing her body and draining her of her chakra.

Kisame fell beside her. He grinned widely. "Come on now, be a good kunoichi." He gripped the string on the net and hauled her off like he was dragging his fresh kill. She screamed and protested and attempted to get out, but all of it was in vain.

Sakura tried everything she could but she could not dispel the chakra absorbing material of this net. She knew that Kisame would force her to heal Itachi, but she would be defiant until the end. No way would she help him. But Kisame would do whatever it took to make her.


	7. Healing the Patient

**Author's note: **So, I'm not exactly off of my course yet, but within the four weeks that I have been lugging my ass around and learning to be a soldier, I managed to get another chapter done. Trust me, after I'm finished, there will be more updates from then on.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. _Feel It_ by Jakalope does not belong to me.

xXx

_Is that you doing that to me,  
>with your stare?<br>I feel the temperatures start to rise,  
>and I really take it from there.<br>_

Sakura sat in front of Itachi, Kisame holding a kunai up to her throat. He had tied her to a chair, Samehada leaning against the chair beside her, keeping her chakra usage regulated. She still refused to give in and help Itachi, and, given his current condition, he might have less than three hours to live.

"I'm going to ask you this once more. Would you prefer helping Itachi out and you get away with a minor beating, or would you rather be tortured by my sword and on the brink of death?"

Sakura gave no inclination of her answer.

Kisame deftly jabbed the tip of the kunai into her thigh. Sakura yelled out in pain, clenching her teeth together to keep from biting her tongue off.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. I don't care which way we do it, but Itachi only has a few hours. So you better make up your mind or I'll do it for you." He stabbed another kunai into her untouched leg. This time she held it in.

He was giving her an ultimatum, and those two choices didn't appeal to her. She knew that picking lesser than the two evils would save her, but did she really want to put her life on the line just to heal a criminal?

She knew that it was only a matter of time before Kisame moved on to places more vital, so she had to make up her mind fast. She looked at Itachi and his feverish state, knowing he didn't have much longer before the poison ceased his heart.

Kisame was about to get to business with some senbon, but Sakura stopped him.

"Untie me. I'll heal him."

Kisame raised an eyebrow. And to think, he had thought she was going to be defiant once more. "Oh yeah? And if you run?"

"I won't. Untie me."

"As you wish,"

He undid her ropes, and, like a prowling lion he tensed up and prepared to strike if she decided to peel. But Sakura stared blankly ahead of her and moved toward the edge of the bed, glancing down at the man who brought so much pain to the world. _Let him suffer a bit,_ she thought before placing her glowing hands on her legs to heal them and then a top of his chest.

In medic mode, Sakura barely noticed that even though the sick Uchiha was in a state of duress, he was still quite handsome. His lean and toned body felt hot under her fingertips, his lips were parted to allow more air, and his hair was strewn about the pillow haphazardously. He looked like a model, but she wasn't seeing any of it; she allowed her chakra to enter his body and began assessing the damage.

It was far worse than she thought.

Itachi wasn't only sustaining a large amount of poisoning in his blood stream, but the bite mark on his shoulder was even redder and was discharging white liquid, the area around it flaming red. It was infected, and badly—it was causing even more problems with his condition. She lacked the necessary tools to get the poison from his system in a hurry, so more unconventional methods would have to be taken.

"Kisame?" she asked quietly, moving a strand of hair away from the Uchiha before her.

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could find where that little spider that bit him crawled away too?"

Kisame thought of it an odd request, but he knew the reason why—she wanted to make antivenom.

"I'll give it a try. But are you sure we'll have enough time to make it?"

"I'll figure that out. Just find it for me."

Kisame did as bade, wondering where to start. Sakura had left the door open earlier, which means that little critter could be anywhere right now. As he purused the room, Sakura thought of the best way to go about this. First, she placed her hand onto Itachi's sweltering forehead. His eyes, black endless pools, tried to focus on her but his eyelids continued to shut and then reopen quickly.

"You're going to hate me, but you need to sleep." Sakura concentrated, and soon Itachi fell into a deep sleep. By working the chakra into his body, she forced his heart to slow down in increments at a time, lowering his fast blood pressure and preventing the spreading of the venom any further.

She hoped Kisame could find him soon. She had no idea how she could even begin making the antivenom before it was too late. If she failed, Itachi died, and Kisame killed her as a result. Reaching into her pocket, she took out the hair elastic and tied her short hair back into a messy bun, praying that he would find that spider in time.

She began working on Itachi diligently, knowing she didn't have the necessary requirements to extract the poison from her as with Kankuro. She'd just have to work the old fashioned way, which happened to be the hardest.

Sakura quickly exited the room, returning with a bucket of water, a cup covered with thin plastic, and wash cloth. She padded Itachi down and rinsed the cloth, her head spinning from the fact that both of their lives hung on the line.

Not a moment later Kisame returned, his hands cupped in front of him. "He's barely alive, but I think you'll get the sucker to bite once more."

Sakura sighed. "It's not that simple. If he's on the brink of death..." she didn't finish her sentence; she healed the spider without further delay. "Now, this is going to sound stupid, but I need him to inject venom into you."

Kisame recoiled. "What the fuck? I'm not letting that thing bite me!"

"Do you want antivenom for him or not?"

He looked puzzled, but he came off as if he knew what she was getting at. "Well, of course, but I don't see how having me being bitten as well would do any good."

"In order to create the venom, we need to inject it into a bigger animal. Since neither a horse or a sheep is here to do so and become immune to the venom, you're the biggest thing in this room. Don't worry; I'll speed up and create more antibodies to quicken the process."

Kisame hesitated still.

"Do you want to save him?"

The shark-nin weighed his options. If what the kunoichi said was true, then all he needed to do was beat the venom from his system and give her the antidote. But if she were lying... He glanced at his partner sweating on the bed, and it was clear he didn't have long before Kisame never found out where Itachi had hidden it.

"If you're lying, kunoichi, I'll rip your head off before the venom kills me." Without further preamble, Kisame surrendered the spider to the medic and waited orders.

Sakura brought out a small needle from her pouch and placeed the spider on a nearby table. She quickly retrieved her glass cup. Sakura waited until the spider became restless enough, and snatched it up, bringing its tiny mandibles to the plastic layer. She watched with relief as it sank into the material and ejected a pea sized amount of venom, and then retracted its mandibles and began to squirm.

Using the water she brought for Itachi, Sakura poured some water into the cup of venom while tossing the spider back at Kisame. "Give me a moment to dilute this," she said, and Kisame placed the tiny arachnid into a dresser drawer for now.

Sakura prepared the venom, and then plunged the needle into the diluted venom water, completely filling the needle. She approached Kisame, who still looked apprehensive, but she assured him that this would work. Before she injected the needle, she sent her chakra into his system to increase the white blood-cells in his blood. Then, she plunged it in without forewarning. Kisame barely flinched, watching with hope that this wouldn't kill him.

The effects of the venom came slow, but he definitely noticed a bit of sweat adding a thin layer to his head. He just hoped that she hadn't meant to kill him. He would surely kill her first before the poison took over.

Sakura took careful evaluation of Kisame's progress, knowing that there shouldn't be any reason for her experiment to backfire. His system was already beginning to create the necessary cells to fight off the poison, and unbeknownst to him, he was slowly creating Itachi's cure. He began showing some signs of being affected by the poison, but he would break it down easily enough. Although she couldn't help but notice the furtive glances he shot at her every time he felt some part of him become effected each minute.

"Kunoichi, you better have this ready for him before he dies. I'll kill you."

"Oh yeah? Try moving."

Kisame did just that—and his body felt lax and languid. Did she trick him! "I swear to fuck if—"

"Calm down, sharky. You'll get over it. Hold in there and wait another hour before I can receive a decent amount. And look over at your partner," she gestured to Itachi, "you really want to kill me when I'm his only cure?"

Kisame weighed his options, and knew the damn bitch held a point. No matter how much he wanted to shred her to pieces, he clenched his jaws together and listened.

Sakura ventured back to Itachi, assessing his damage. He was creeping even farther into the critical point, and if she didn;t do something now then he would definitely be a gonner. Not that she _wanted_ to help him, but her life was on the line, and the only way to get to Sasuke was through Itachi.

"Where's the spider?"

"In the drawer, why?"

"I might need to inject more into your system if this doesn't work out the first time."

Kisame was silent.

Sakura checked the clock on the wall. "Okay, I'm going to take some blood from you and see how far along we're at." She removed a needle and approached Kisame, who flinched. She gave him a blank look. "Really? C'mon, give me some of your blood."

Kisame stood still as she plunged the needle into his blue flesh and extracted a tiny amount, and she moved it over to the table where she inserted into a small oval cup. Next she allowed her chakra to surface, and then she inspected his blood, learning his blood type, his genetic makeup, and finally the condition of his white blood cells. She was startled, to say the least, that within half an hour his body had effectively produced the necessary cells to fight off the poison.

"Okay, we're good. I'm going to get a bit more from you and then Itachi should be fine,"

Silently, she extracted more, and converted it into serum, and eventually brought it to the point where it was ready to be injected. Before she plunged the needle into the slowly dying Uchiha, Kisame stopped her. "Will it be enough?"

"This should do it, if not he'll just get another injection. You've created more than enough immune cells to counter-attack the poison. He's got a solid 98% chance of recovering."

Kisame raised a lone brow. "What about the other 2%?"

Sakura readied the needle. "His body rejects your white cells and he dies within an hour." With that, she gave Itachi the serum and watched as the liquid flowed steadily into his arm vein.

Sakura woke many hours later at the foot of Itachi's bed. Kisame was no where in sight, but she didn't really care. The first thing she did was assess Itachi's progress, having passed out midway through when his body was beginning to fight off the raging fever. Once she had been convinced that he wouldn't die the minute she took her eyes off of him, she had decided to close her eyes for a moment to replenish herself, and now that she looked at the clock, she had been gone almost five hours.

Her neck severely cramped, she stretched a little, all the while peeking at Itachi. That cold, pale flush had left his face, and though he still looked haggard, his breathing was no longer compromised and he looked less uncomfortable. She touched her hand to his forehead, proud that it wasn't sweltering beneath her hand, and began to do a routine check-up on his internal organs and his circulatory system.

The antibodies that Kisame had supplied had did more than she first thought on the first try. The poison was nearly completely wiped from his system, and he was on the boat to a full recovery. Sakura was more than relieved that her ass had been saved, but she wasn't done treating her patient just yet. She gave his immune system a tiny boost before deeming him cured, knowing that in the morning he would be feeling most likely muscle cramps and sickness. It was mostly out of her control, and the Uchiha could do with some agitation tomorrow.

Realizing that she didn't smell too nice, she wondered where the bathroom was, and if it contained a shower. Snatching another look back at the unconscious Uchiha, she crept silently out into the empty, eerie hallway. Skulking to the bathroom would just make her look suspicious, but she was apprehensive. She didn't even know if Kisame was dead or not, because for all she knew he could have died from the poison. So she played it safe and kept an even gait, alert for anything that may move that happened to be big, blue, and sharky.

Effectively the bathroom was located twenty meters around the corner from the room, and once inside did she let her guard drop a tiny bit. After finishing up, she headed back to the room with her hair drenched. Kisame was sitting next to Itachi where Sakura had previously been sleeping by, with an intent look on his face. Sakura could understand, to say the least, that he must be worried for his comrad. Even criminals felt for their teammates, she supposed.

"Is he better?" Kisame asked softly, never taking his eyes off of Itachi.

Sakura entered the room and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms and assessing with her eyes Itachi's condition. He definitely did look much healthier than before, his veins that been extended before were now to their normal size, his body wasn't flushed and clammy, and his breathing was regulated. It would be a while before the entirety of the poison left his sytem, but for now he was cleared from the danger zone.

"He's perfectly fine. He'll be weak for a few days, and probably dehydrated, but he'll be fine." Sakura paused, not sure if she wanted to add any more incentives to assure Kisame of Itachi's condition, but thought better of it when Kisame sighed almost inaudibly.

"Thank you." Sakura's head shot up, unsure of she heard him correctly. Kisame looked at her finally, his beady eyes quite calm and relaxed. "But you're still a prisoner. Whether you saved his life or not."

She figured as much, but she didn't say anything, knowing the first time that she had an opportunity to escape she would definitely take it. Kisame promptly stood and left the room, stopping by the door before leaving. "I will find you again if you do escape, you know this, right?" Sakura wordlessly nodded her head and waited til he travelled down the hallway and could no longer hear his footsteps.

She took her position by the bed, about to take a thorough examination of her patient, when Itachi's ruby eyes snapped open, startling her.

Itachi didn't say a word, looking straight to the ceiling. She doubted he even knew she was there. Eventually, his gaze levelled until he was looking right at her. Apprehension crept into her as she stared back, waiting for her to succumb to the Tsukiyomi once more, but what he said surprised her.

"Was it you who healed me?"

She nodded. "Yes,"

He was silent again, still holding her eyes with his. Expecting for him to say thank you wasn't what she was waiting for, but he said it, and it really took her off guard.

"Thank you...for saving my life." He looked away. "But you're still not leaving."

Again, she knew this, but it still annoyed her that after all the effort she put into healing him he still wouldn't allow her to leave. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand and placed the back of it on his forehead. He didn't catch her arm, or flinch away, but allowed her to take his temperature silently. He was fine, but her hand lingered. He never said anything about it, but slowly she retracted her hand, wondering what was going through her head to have done that.

"You'll be fine. You should be back to full strength in a few days. Try to relax, don't hurt yourself, your body is still fighting."

"I'll be fine tomorrow morning." Itachi said almost convincingly.

"Bull. Lay down. Don't push yourself," she was about to leave, but he stopped her once more.

"I know you're lying. You had it, the Ryuukaton. It's been in your chakra for quite some time now. And soon, I'll find out how you've gotten it. Mark my words, kunoichi."

Sakura stiffened, wondering how long he had known. Maybe he knew all along. She left the room without a word, heading to her bedroom.

Itachi attempted to sit up in bed, but found himself becoming fatigued at this point already. To say the least, being fully recuperated tomorrow would be almost an impossibility, but he wouldn't let anyone show that he was weak.

There was one question on his mind, though; why did Sakura save his life, when she could have left him to die and she could have escaped? The answer evaded him, but he knew there must have been a reason, but to find it now would have to wait.

He sat back down, closed his tired eyes, feeling his muslces aching and his body refusing to move too much. He fell asleep again, the last thing running through his mind was the comforting feeling of Sakura's hand on his forehead.


	8. Drinking with the Enemy

**A/N:** WOW! I'm back, baby! I've just spent two months up in Gagetown, NB, working on my soldier skills! I am now a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces :D So yeah...which is my excuse for not updating for like...five weeks or so lol. But bare with me! There shall be an end to this story. No more school for me (yay) so that means time to focus on this story. Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. _Brick by Boring Brick_ by Paramore does not belong to me.

xXx

_Her prince finally came to save her,  
>and the rest you can figure out.<br>But it was a trick,  
>and the clock struck twelve.<em>

Itachi's eyes fluttered open. He immediately closed them, the white light from outside searing his sensitive eyes. Rubbing a hand on his forehead and on the bridge of his nose he stretched up and sat upright, slowly taking in the world around him. How long had he been out? What day was it? He was still alive? The last thing he coherently recalled was the feeling of something soft and warm on his forehead, and even then the memory (or dream) was distorted. He wanted to believe that getting bitten had never happened, but it did—he sure felt it in the way he moved with slow unsteadiness.

Pain pierced him once more in his attempt to see. Why did they feel so tender, when he hadn't used them in a long period of time? Too much to take in, he shut them and let his hearing overpower everything else, his chakra not yet fully restored. He picked up light footfalls outside of his door about fifty feet away, which could only mean that Sakura was on her way. Kisame was on the floor above him, and by his spiked energy Itachi could tell he was carefully monitoring Sakura, like she'd bolt or something.

He was greeted with a warm smile when the kunoichi entered his room. Following that charming smile was a frown and her eyes clouded, looking down and away from him, as if he'd hurt her. She scuttled beside the bedside table, something in her hands. When she turned to face him, there was a glass of water and a bowl of what looked to be chicken soup.

"Uh, I didn't know what you liked. I hope this is okay," she sounded so...timid. Itachi didn't know what to make of his, and silently accepted the glass of water. He took a long gulp, and noticed how much his throat felt like sandpaper. He also accepted the soup, and sipped at it, grateful to fill the void in his stomach.

"Thank you."

Sakura squeaked a bit, nodded her head, and then rushed from the room.

Queer, thought Itachi as he continued to sip at the soup, wondering what was going on with her.

xXx

As soon as Sakura left the room she breathed a large sigh of relief.

Being in the room with him was hard enough when you were scared of how the other person made you feel. Ever since the little exchange between her and Itachi two days ago took place, she had been on edge, virtually afraid of what the feeling had insinuated. It was obvious he remembered none of this event, for which she was ever thankful for, though it never helped _her_ feel better. All she could think of was to not make eye contact or do anything that could produce similar results again. It was against the rules to fraternize with the enemy, and against her morals.

Well, she seemed to think so before anyway.

Swatting away the pestering thoughts she continued to the kitchen, her stomach growling for most of the morning to be acknowledged. She had a notion that Kisame was tracking her, not so much of an actual feeling but more of a suspicion. He would be wise to watch her diligently, but she wished he would slack off once more for her to have enough time to escape.

She made her way through the kitchen and began fixing something to eat, aware of eyes on her. She turned slowly, and noticed Itachi leaning against the doorway. If she hadn't known any better, she would have just assumed he was lounging around and leaning comfortably against the wall. But the haggard, sunken look in his eyes and his body posture told her a different story: he was still very weak, and was fighting to keep feigning obliviousness.

"Itachi. Go back to bed. You're far too weak to be up and moving," chastised Sakura, turning again, thinking that would send him back.

A hand clasped itself on hers as her knife came down on the chicken she was butchering. Chills raced from her hand up to her elbows and to her shoulders. Fighting to keep her voice level, she gritted, "What're you doing?"

"You think it's highly advisable for you to be telling your captor what to do?"

"Well, as I see it," she began, twisting out of his grasp and whirling to face him. Suddenly, he was far too close for her taste. "You're still the patient. I have the right as a doctor to tell you what to do. Now, back to bed."

There was humour glittering in his eyes. It almost masked the emptiness she saw in them as well. "Listen closely, kunoichi. You must listen to your captor. And as I know it, you're still a thief to me. And until you either die or return my object, there is no way I am letting you go." He leaned back from her, for which she struggled to supress the breath of relief. "Unless, of course, you're willing to submit information as to how you came across the Ryuukaton. In which case, I might be inclined to letting you free."

Sakura was in no mood to be pondering freedom or captivity. "I'll let you know my answer. But not now."

"Don't push it. I've been most favourable to you up until now,"

She scoffed, turning back to work on her chicken again. "You've been in bed most of the time. Like you could do anything _now_ to harm m—" She was cut off by a sharp, shooting pain through her abdomen. She collapsed, dropping the knife dangerously close to her nose. Blood trickled down her mouth as she clutched at her tender and bruising stomach. "W-what...was that for...?"

Itachi's face was right in hers suddenly. He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. _Funny how I observe this now at a critical time_, Sakura thought dryly, fighting to stave off the instinct to whimper.

"You're in for a lot of pain if you won't cooperate or shut your mouth." The intensity behind his threat was evident enough for her to back off. Slowly, she nodded her head. "I will not lay another hand on you unless absolutely necessary. Consider this a sample of what I still have to work with. Being bedridden for two days does nigh to my talent." Slowly, cat-like, he stood and exited the room.

Sakura crawled on her stomach and refused even still to make a sound of discomfort. Slowly she raised, one leg at a time, standing in front of the cutting board where a vacant space now greeted her. The chicken had, apparently, went down with her. Picking it up and disposing it in the trash she came to the conclusion that she was no longer famished, and proceeded to exit the room and distance herself as far away as possible from Itachi without alerting Kisame.

She traveled down the thin corridors, not sure where she was going, but meaning to find some solace alone.

_He is absolutely insane. I cannot continue to be a captive any more! I need to leave._

All of those times where she thought him to be a different person, she had thought wrong. Now, her goals lay with finding a way to get to either the basement or the second floor; the rooms that were sealed off from her. If she could find a way to weaken both of them, or to even distract them like before, surely it would prove effective once again to have the chakra seals weakened and her chances of slipping out more probable. But how do you go about finding a way round-about way to distract/kill two S-Class criminals with very little chakra and practically no strategy?

She stopped next to a closed door to catch her breath and clear her thoughts. Maybe she should find that spider again. But it was useless, she knew. No way would he be taken down the same way twice, and there was no way she would be able to sneak back into his room and get the arachnid. It was times like these she actually wished that the Ryuukaton was still left in her possession. Not only had it served as an excellent booster in combat, but it proved to be a comforting item that always lead her thoughts to Sasuke, and even though his memory pained her it also comforted her.

"What do you think you're doing around here?"

Startled, Sakura whirled around to face Kisame. _I was so lost in thought I didn't hear him coming..._

"I coulda killed you, you know." Supplied the shark-nin candidly. He looked less ferocious somehow, but never the less intimidating. Sakura could also guess that he seemed more...jolly than normal, if she wanted to venture that far to describe his amiable presence. "What's going on out here? Have you had a chance to check up on Itachi yet?"

"Trust me," she breathed warily, holding on to her shoulders as if they'd support her, "he's up and walking already."

"Good." The silence hung over them like a heavy blanket. "What do you want to do?"

"What any normal shinobi would do with an S-class criminal," was what Sakura was tempted to say but she bit her tongue.

"I don't know."

"Just because Itachi isn't fun, doesn't mean that I'm not," that sharky smile appeared, and Sakura felt more apprehensive than scared. "I've got some games we could play."

Was this what it all really came down to? Playing games with the enemy, with her captor, because of sheer boredom? Could she hit any lower than rock bottom at this point? Tumbling with emotions, Sakura could honestly not think of anything else remotely more entertaining to do, other than hide out and stay clear from Itachi.

"Sure," she complied, following Kisame down the hallway, wondering what had gotten into her. _Naruto, Sai, and Kakashi would _kill_ me if they found out what I was doing right now_. But it was almost inevitable she presumed, because really, it had already progressed to the point where it didn't matter what she did; Itachi wouldn't let her go until she talked, and she would obstinately bite her tongue until she was dead. Maybe longer.

Kisame lead her up to where the staircases were located, and she could see the smirk even with his face half concealed. "I know you like to run away, but you can't try that here. We're going up to the third floor. Don't try anything."

Sakura quietly followed behind him, knowing that the floor she was passing _right now_ was an off-limits sector. She was tempted to take a peek and guess as to why this was so, but resisted the urge for a better time and silently continued along. Kisame (gentlemanly) held the doors open for her, and she was greeted with a large expanse of a room that looked familiar of a banquet hall. Mostly, it was empty, but there were a few tables and chairs and a door that lead to another room to the far right corner. Kisame lead her to this door, and as she passed she noticed an exquisite looking kitchen. When he opened the door, she saw the grand bar, full of games like pool, air-hockey, foose ball table, black jack table, et cetera.

"See? We're not _all_ serious." What might have been intended to be a humourous smile looked more carnivorous to her, but she nodded her head, gulped, and watched as he made his way to the empty bar. He gathered a few bottles that were foreign to Sakura and came back with them, placing them on the black jack table and opening one that looked quite intriguing. "Since Itachi's up and about," he popped the top off the bottle and took a larger-than-necessary swig, "I can indulge. He's got that sensor on you, so if you try anything he can stop you. Gods, I've been _craving_ for a drink..."

Sakura only blinked numbly. Was she _really_ awake, or was this just some large dream she was having? Kisame was _drinking_ and _acting_ like a _friend_! It was if he was trying to deter the atmosphere of hostage and captor with some friendly chatter and games. Was he _seriously_ thinking she would relax around him so easily? He had another thing coming, and if she timed it correctly, she could escape if he would get drunk enough.

Determined not to fall for his false pretenses, she took up her station on a bar stool, hoping to either a) bore him to death, b) wait until he was drunk enough, or c) she would get tired of waiting. Apparently, none of those seemed like suitable options for the swordsman. Kisame swung into her line of vision, perching on a stool himself while nursing yet another long bottle of god-knew-what.

"Don't be a party pooper!" He exulted, taking a tiny sip before shoving a bottle looking relatively safe into hers. "Drink with me!"

"Why?" she asked without really meaning to. She didn't want to have an explanation as to why _he_ of all people would want to drink with _her_, but she supposed it was too late for that now.

"Because," he stressed this word, coaxing the drink to her, "Itachi's boring, and I'm bored.

"You gonna have some?" he offered her a full bottle of something, and she screwed up her face. "Oh, I see. Let me fix you something tasty and weak." He bellowed loudly, like he made the funniest joke, and took the rest of whatever was left in his bottle into his gullet.

Sakura didn't like being called _weak_ by any means, even if it was for playful uses and to get her to have a good time with him. It just isn't happening. No way could she stand there and face the fact that a highly regarded shinobi wanted in all nations would call her (twitch) _weak_.

"Fix me the strongest thing you have," she challenged, knowing that he had another thing coming if he thought she was going to sway to his jokes.

"Oh, you're a little girl playing in a big girl's world. But if you say so…" He pulled out a bottle that was shaped as a square with a slender neck, brought out a shot glass from the bar, and poured the…_purple_ looking substence into the bottle and handed it to her. "The best the house has to offer," he cheered her and took a swig from it himself, downing ¼ of the contents, and stifling a cough after finished.

Sakura looked uneasily into the cup. If it made _him_ cough, what would it do to her? All the lessons in the world from Tsunade-sama would help her now, and bravely, albeit foolishly, she downed the contents. It felt like her throat and stomach was literally burning on fire, and it took all the will power she could muster to keep from spitting it all out of her mouth. Once the fire liquid settled into her stomach the effects hit her instantly.

"Feeling the burn, eh? Not like you can get another shot into ya—"

Sakura promptly grabbed the bottle from his grasp and deftly drank half of what was in there. Sure, her eyes were tearing and her stomach and throat were burning, but to hell if he thought she was a pussy and couldn't handle her liquor.

Kisame's eyebrows rose as he watched the seemingly weak kunoichi down his liquor with a brave face. She never even choked, either. Suddenly he felt like he should increase this game and make it even funner.

"Ever played strip poker?" he inquired teasingly, his heart not all there to play, but it seemed like she was ready to accept any challenge he presented her.

"I'll own you in Texas hold 'em."

Kisame's sharky grin grew wider as he located the deck of cards and began sorting and distributing them. "Well aware of the rules?"

"You know it," she said, a little slurred. Sakura grasped to reality as they began their deadly card game.

Oh, he was _so_ going down.

xxx

Two bottles of sake and three hands of poker later, Sakura was down to her workout shorts and sports bra, whereas Kisame had only shed his Akatsuki cloak and sandals. Sakura was confident that she would win this hand, but Kisame proved not only to be versatile on the battle field but also in a game of poker.

"Give up, pinkie," Kisame drawled as he drew another card, almost completing his royal flush. "You're getting in too deep with this game. And as it looks, I'm winning."

"Screw you," she barked defiantly, placing her bids, knowing she had an edge.

"I'm calling," Kisame and Sakura revealed their hands, and Kisame was pleased to see that he had won yet again. "I won. Again. Strip, pinkie."

Sakura, disgruntled and getting tired of not winning, shed her shorts and was left in her bra and underwear. Unfortunately for her, the effects of the alcohol never made her feel shy.

"I'll get you next time." Sakura promised, swaying in her seat, on the verge of passing out on the floor, cards in hand and all. "You just wait…I've got two more rounds to go…"

"I think you're quite done here."

Sakura looked up at Kisame and gave him the one finger salute. "You don't say when I'm done! I can still play! I'll—"

"It was me who was speaking, kunoichi."

Sakura stilled, not seeing Kisame's mouth move even though her vision was swimming. Slowly, her pink head turned to look over her shoulder, and the intimidating looking Uchiha elder stood behind her. His red eyes were blazing, and he looked better to her than when she saw him….several hours ago. Sakura didn't even know what time it was, or how many bottles she had.

"Oh, sorry, Itachi," Sakura waved him off, forgetting that his name slipped from her mouth without any suffix. "You wanna play him, right? Watch out, he's a real shark." She let out a snor t to her own joke, oblivious to the fact that neither Itachi or Kisame was laughing.

"I'm going to bring you back to your quarters. Kisame," the Uchiha glared a the shark-nin, "don't ever put her in such a state again. It is quite bothersome."

"Lighten up, we were having fun."

"And we do not have fun with our captives, Kisame."

Kisame grumbled, "She's not _my_ captive…"

All of a sudden something ceased Kisame's movements, and when his eyes darted to Itachi those swirling red orbs focused entirely on him.

"She may not be your captive, Kisame," his hold tightened minutely, "but you do remember I possess soemthing that you want, and if you ever wish to have it again you will abide by my rules." He released his hold on Kisame, leaving him disgruntled and slightly bewildered as Itachi grabbed Sakura by the elbow and towed him along with her.

"Hey! Let go of me, you big bully! My clothes are back there—!"

Itachi ignored her protests even as they became louder, and restrained her when she struggled. Practically dragging her by her hair, he lead her down the two flights of stairs and to the main floor where he deposited her in the bedroom.

"Is this how you treat the person who healed you?" Sakua shouted when he threw her into her room, and he paused by the doorway at the sound of her accusation.

He glanced over his shoulder, saying in a sonorous voice, "This is how I treat the person who stole from me."

"I never stole anything from you!" Sakura continued to argue. "Sasuke, he—" She clamped a hand over her mouth before she said more, noting that she was not in her right mind, and Itachi was precariously tipping over in her vision. Couldn't he just stay still? All three of them…

Itachi was suddenly right in front of her, his red eyes piercing through her verdant ones. "What about my otouto, kunoichi?"

She found it difficult to look away from his mesmerizing orbs. He seemed more…_real _to her, now up close. And he really wasn't that bad looking, he actually looked really…good…

Before Sakura could even comprehend the ramifactions of her actions, her hand came up to gently wipe across his brow, above those deadly orbs that threatened to murder her. But for some reason they looked more beautiful and regal than they did ruthless and murderous, and that gave her enough courage to bring her other hand up to cup his face in both of hers.

She drank in his scent and he stood statuesque, stunned and mortified that he was _touching_ her. She believed that underneath that exterior he wore there was something…something…that something she didn't quite know what it was, but she was determined to find out.

"Your eyes…" she slurred, swaying on her unsteady feet. "They're so…pretty. I'm not sure why, but they don't look dangerous to me. They look…" her hands dropped from his face to rest on his sturdy and muscular shoulders, and though he was lean in built he made up for the muscular build of his body and the litheness behind his moves.

Itachi's brain must have been fried. Why wasn't he stopping her from touching him? Any moment now she could…no, that was ridiculous, he reasoned with himself. She was so inebriated she was just unaware of what she was doing and thus proved no threat. And besides, he could cut off her chakra at any given moment and render her unconscious, so why didn't he…

Sakura's hands felt their way up from his shoulder back to his face, her hands lingering on his silky hair in the low ponytail to his brows. She was glad that he wasn't stopping her from her ministrations, because she was enjoying taking control when he was too stunned to do anything else but stand there and wait it out.

"I got it," she declared softly, her body angling closer to his. She was totally lost to the fact that she was only clad in a bra and underwear, and that she was getting to him, and her breathing was becoming heavy and heedy and she was exuding warmth and radiance from her. No, totally unaware. "Your eyes," she continued, "they're very beautiful in their own right, but dangerous. They're so…exotic. And alluring. There, that's what they are."

Itachi seemed to awaken from La La Land; he roughly shoved Sakura away from him and looked away, hiding his face and exiting the room.

"I would advise to never do that again." He grit through his teeth, trying to hide just how much she had made him uncomfortable. "Go to bed and do not cause any more ruckus."

"Itachi…" His ear was lent to her, but she had difficulty finishing her sentence. "I know…that, um…I didn't really steal from you, but…"

"What are you trying to say?" He bit out, his impatience wearing thin.

"I wish that we weren't in this situation." She blurted. Then what situation could she possibly want to be in, if not this one, Itachi couldn't help but think, and just as he was about to shut himself off from any further conversation, Sakura surprised him by saying. "Because if we weren't, I would have _totally_ come on to you!"

Just as Sakura began doubling over in a fit of laughter, Itachi chose this opportunity to escape. As he left, he wondered just what sort of situation he placed himself in with the kunoichi. She wasn't leaving until she told him the truth, and now that he knew Sasuke was involved there was another way for him to get his foot in the door.

As he rounded the corner to go to the second floor he spotted Kisame leaning casually against the wall, a plum in his large hands.

"You put pinkie to bed?" he questioned casually while chomping on the fruit, enjoying the rare moments where he would see Itachi flustered and annoyed.

"By that you mean Sakura, then yes." Itachi answered. "Anyone still awake upstairs?"

"All of 'em. I was just up there drinking with them. You should really let them know about her being here. What if—"

"They have their orders to stay clear of this area, and she has hers. They will not encounter. If they do it will surely mean…"

"She'll die, Itachi. Where will you get your information then?" Kisame continued to chomp on the plum almost thoughtfully. "Or do you intend to keep her around for other things?"

"Nothing else." Itachi replied curtly, dismissing himself from the shark-nins presence and heading up to the second floor, where the rest of the Akatsuki remained. "I just want my information…"

xXx

"This is really weird…" Naruto sniffed around Sakura's apartment and her scent was clearly stale in the area. "She hasn't been here in a few days, and what I know she hasn't gone on any missions. And we checked the hospitals."

Sai sighed and looked underneath a particularly guilty bookcase, shaking his wary head. "Are you sure she's not just out doing one of her girl things?"

"Trust me, Sai, something's wrong." Naruto said, confident he was going to find her somehow.

"But Hag _does_ like being by herself. What if she's exploring her youthful side and getting out in the world?" Sai plastered on one of his fake smiles, and though Naruto appreciated his optimism, he knew his Sakura more than anyone else on this earth, and his instincts were screaming to him that everything definitely wasn't okay.

"Sai, when you've known someone long enough you know their habits. Sakura wouldn't just fall off the map without telling us. I'm going over to Kakashi-sensei and letting him know. Oh, and Tsunade-baa-chan, too. You comin'?"

Sai didn't have to think long about his decision. If his new brother thought that their sister was in trouble than he believed him. After all, he agreed that no one knew her better. "I'll go inform Hokage-sama. She will know what to do." With that the ex-Root member disappeared, leaving Naruto with an empty apartment, but a mind full of thoughts.

_Sakura...where are you?_

xXx

The aforementioned kunoichi lay on her bed and didn't sleep. Her mind was too muddled and distorted for her to really analyze anything clearly, but the one thing that remained was the smell of Itachi on her hands. It was the smell of a man, hardwork, and years of honed skills mixed in to one, and right now to her it was the sexiest smell in the world.

She tossed and turned on her bed, and the only thinking of his presence. She enjoyed it, and although sometimes she felt like she was teetering on the brink of life and death (which she mostly was), it was comforting to know that he was so powerful and so…different. Unlike Sasuke in so many ways, but still the same somehow. Unified. Similarly different. It was tough to explain, but to have sort of remnant of Sasuke's being was comforting even if it did come in the form of his older, more sadistic brother.

She wanted to seek him out. Every fibre of her being was aching to touch him again, to smell him. What had been in that drink Kisame had given her? Her thoughts mingled together and formed different opinions on their own, and she was growing more afraid of what she may do, but the alcohol kept her from caring. Sneaking out seemed like a good idea. But what if he caught her and told her to go back to bed again? That was no fun. After re-clothing because of being cold, she could hardly think of anything to do, and playing another game of poker was obviously out of the question. Mainly because she was running thin on wardrobe options.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she rolled out of bed ungracefully and inched the door open, peering out into the hallways and confirming that it was, indeed, empty. Now, the only problem that lay ahead of her was locating him.

Quietly, she began tiptoeing out of the bedroom, conscious of the door's uncanny ability to make groaning noises. Thinking she was being discreet, she skulked out of the room and down the hallway, mindful that everything seemed to be lilting and she was teetering around the room, having to use the wall as support.

She would go to that ever condemned second floor whether _Itachi_ liked it or not. She decided this as ascending the staircase one at a time with her hands carefully secured to the ladder. There was nothing that would stop her from finding out just what was up there.

Noise, loud noise, and sounds of conversations and laughter reached her ears, and even though her vision was slightly impaired, the sounds came crystal clear and very loud. What were all of these people doing aboard the ship?

Her question was answered, however, as she opened the large doors to the second floor room. Greeting her was silence, and around every corner of the room there was a pair of eyes boring into her.

Occupying the room was the members of Akatsuki. Sakura just happened to interrupt a poker game.

All hell seemed to break lose in her head.

**XxX**

So hi. This is the end of chapter 8. To explain Sakura's less than rational thought processes, she's—obviously—drunk, and everything seems to warp when drunk. So do not take her change in attitude seriously, because right now her thoughts are impaired and she's a little more indulgent than before. And if anyone would like to inquire about my experience going through becoming a solider in the army I would be more than willing to let you know 8D

**XxX**

If you honestly like this fic, or you have some concerns/questions/critiquing for this story, review.

~Rei


	9. Old Comrades

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay. Busy with work. Anyways, it's a rollin' again. Thanks for the feedback!

**Disclaimer: **_Disconnected (Out of Touch) _by Trapt does not belong to me.

xXx

_You don't really know me,  
>I don't think you've ever even tried.<br>We're on the same routine,  
>and still you never have the time.<em>

"You've got no leads _at all_?"

You know that you've failed your job miserably when the Hokage herself was literally fisting a glass ornament and taking aim as she continued to spit incredulous accusations at you. Kakashi just wished that he could find one person in this whole village that could sympathize with him right now, but as it stood he _had_ failed, and this news would be a major shock to both Naruto and Sai.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama. My dogs and I haven't been able to find a suitable scent trail to follow without it either dying out within a kilometer, or it diverting in several different misleading directions. We are trying our best."

"If you are then why haven't you appointed some tracker ANBU with you to scout her out?"

Kakashi shifted uneasily. "With all due respect, my dogs are better at tracking than they are, Hokage-sama. If they haven't been able to get a lead the chances of them finding her are slim."

Tsunade looked even closer to hurling the glass object at his face, and he took note to duck if it came down to it.

"Kakashi," she ground out, and fortunately for him, she dropped the object and sat down with a long sigh. "Sakura is my student, and she's missing. _You_, of all people, should understand the turmoil I'm going in right now."

"Yes, of course. I am concerned for her as well. But she is a confident young woman, Hokage-sama, and whatever situation she's in right now she can handle herself." Kakashi's lone eye closed and he smiled beneath his mask. "If I can name the second most scariest person in all of the fire country, it would be her. Next to you of course, Hokage-sama."

"Whatever," Tsunade grunted, beginning to immerse herself with the load of paperwork to get her mind off of doing something that would cause her to lose her title _and_ her freedom. "You are dismissed, Kakashi. Please, do inform Naruto and Sai about this, and put together a search team that you feel confident in. Don't come back until I get positive results."

Kakashi gulped. Well, now was the time more than ever to play his trump card and, hopefully, win back Tsunade's respect for him. "There is one thing that may help us in our investigation." He offered curtly, and when he saw that she was piqued, he continued. "You see, I may have a fellow who may be able to find us some leads. It's a bit of a risky maneovre, but I'm positive that he can do this."

"Would you care to enlighten his identity for me?"

"In respect of his privacy, no. It might be the only thing to convince him to help us out."

Tsunade bit the bottom of her lip, and although it may to others seem like a habit when dealing with frustration, Kakashi knew that this was a sign that the great sennin was truly buried in deep trouble.

"If it can be done, then do it." She dismissed him with a nod of her head.

Kakashi proceeded through the doorway, but before he could close it firmly behind him, he heard her say, "Don't make me regret this, Kakashi."

As he shut the door behind him he knew that Naruto and Sai would be waiting outside of the Hokage tower for him to relay his information. It would dissatisfy them to know that no new leads had been turned up. He smiled when he thought of the faces they would make when he told them they might have an actual chance of finding Sakura, but quickly frowned when he realized what type of situation he was getting himself into.

If Kakashi wasn't known to gamble with his life, he may have skipped out on this last option.

After a full two weeks of him and his dogs searching throughout the regions of the fire country for Sakura, and ultimately coming up empty handed, Kakashi wanted to give up the chase and let someone else handle it before moving toward the other countries. Had he been that lonesome younger version of himself, before he ever got reassigned to teach a team of genin and be demoted to just another jonin, he wouldn't have bothered.

But these weren't just any genin. These three had been Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto. Even at the worst of times when they would begin to fray his patience and do funny things to his mind, he couldn't deny that he had irrevocably formed a bond with them that would last longer than he'd first realized. They were like his adopted children, and no surrogate father could just abandon them, after all they had went through in the end.

He already lost Obito and Rin, and then his father, then came Minato, Jiraiya, Sasuke, he didn't want to lose Sakura, too. After all the sacrifices, he couldn't forgive himself if he let her slip away from him. He would take all of the risks to get her back, even _if_ this seemed to be the biggest of them all.

The minute his sandled foot reached outside Naruto pounced upon him. "So? Are there any new leads for Sakura or _what_, sensei?" His big blue eyes were boisterous and alive with the prospect of finding his comrade. Sai, however, remained taciturn and waited for the results with the mutiny that had been ingrained within him since birth.

The elite jonin, however, found it a very difficult circumstance to break the news to the joyous blond, but knew he couldn't lie to him, either. "I'm sorry, Naruto." Immediately, said boy's face became crestfallen. "My dogs couldn't get a strong enough scent, or one that lead us on false trails. Whoever took her was careful and meticulous."

In the middle of Naruto's instantenous whining, Sai broke in with a question. "How do we know for certain that she's been kidnapped? Why can't we assume Ugly-chan has run off and fled the village, much like Sasuke-kun?"

A fist connected to the side of Sai's jaw, and the ex-Root member bareful flinched at the impact. Kakashi could see he had it coming, anyways.

"Don't you _dare_ accuse Sakura-chan of abandoning the village!" Naruto snarled, pulling his arm back to his side, but his posture remained tense. "She loves this village more than anything! And she'd never leave us!"

Sai, coolly and tactly, replied, "But that's what you thought before Sasuke-kun left the village too, right?"

Kakashi moved with precision and stopped the other fist from hitting Sai's face. He knew the boy wouldn't need it, but it gave him ample opportunity to look Naruto in the eyes and calm him down.

"Punching Sai won't make Sakura come back faster, Naruto."

"But it would make me feel better," pouted the boy as he lowered his fist to his sensei and sulked. "Why can't Sai just understand that Sakura would _never_ do this? The only reason why she's missing and Tsunade-baa-chan doesn't know why is because she was kidnapped."

"Sai doesn't know her as well as you and I, Naruto. Give him a bit of a break." Kakashi shot a glance toward Sai. "And I agree with him, you know. Sakura wouldn't leave this village. Whether or not she was truly kidnapped is under speculation, but there is a legitmate reason for her absence and none of it is her fault."

Even though Kakashi relayed this to Sai in the utmost confidence, he was still speculative. "It wouldn't surprise me if she did take off on her own free will and made us all think that she's been captured. I've seen it happen before myself. It's a good tactic for someone when they knew their friends and relatives would truly believe they'd never willingly leave."

"How can you just _say_ that about ourSakura-chan?" Naruto made another move to pop Sai another, but Kakashi intercepted and gripped his wrist firmly and twisted it behind his back effortlessly.

"Again, hitting him won't bring her back," Kakashi sighed, and released the blond before kicking him away from Sai. "I suppose I should break the good news to you."

Like Kakashi hadn't kicked Naruto all the way across the road, Naruto was immediately at his side, persisting to know his 'good news.'

"Well, I can't exactly tell you the good bits of it, but I may know someone who would be able to find a lead for her. If I can contact him effectively, that is."

"Awww! Why won't you tell us, sensei? Please, I won't tell anyone! Right Sai? We won't tell!"

The man in question merely shrugged his shoulders, feigning disinterest. Kakashi didn't earn his nickname Perceptive for nothing, even though he didn't earn his nickname Perv for nothing, either. Sai was clearly intrigued, and all of that could be said by the way his body inadvertently shifted to his direction.

"I just can't tell you, Naruto. I must respect his privacy. But if this works, then we may be able to find her."

"Then why are you standing here for! Go, contact him!" Naruto all but shoved his sensei away from them and began waving goodbye, naive to the lengths of which Kakashi would go to retrive his kunoichi subordinate.

The jonin moved idly through the crowd in search of the post office, where he found a woman stationed behind the counter. She looked startled to see him of all people, mostly because Kakashi never sent mail to _anyone_, but smiled all the same and asked how she could serve him.

"I'd like a messenger, please."

"All right. National or international?"

He thought before quickly saying, "International."

The woman fiddled through some paperwork. "Would you like a tracker bird or one with a pre-destined route?"

"Tracker, please. I'm not aware of his current location."

"All right. How long is your message?"

"It won't be long."

"All right! I'll be right back." The woman disappeared behind a curtain and he could hear rattling of cages and keys unlocking locks and the sqwauks of birds before she emmerged with an elegant looking hawk. "His name is Toyo. He's the best tracker we've got, if you're willing to pay, of course..."

_Ah, marketing strategists._ "Of course. How much?"

Kakashi paid for the bird and allowed it to perch precariously upon his shoulder. Taking it home proved to be amusing as people stared at him in confusion, wondering why Hatake Kakashi, of all people, would want to carry around a bird.

He entered his apartment and wasted no time in collecting a pad of lined paper and an ink pen. The hawk patiently hovered near the open window, used to the precedure by now to wait until his master was finished so it could fly out and find its destination.

Kakashi scribbled hastily onto the paper, sparing his words, lest someone who he didn't want finding the message to remain clueless to his intentions. Once his short message was accurately placed in a way he knew he would be able to decipher, he tied the message to the birds back but told it to stay there one moment.

"You're nose is good too, right?" The hawk screeched in answer. "Good, be right back."

The hawk watched curiously as Kakashi pulled a nearby dresser drawer out and dispensed of its contents to lift a board to reveal a hidden pocket. In his hands was a hitai-ate, and not his. It had belonged to the man he intended to find, and hoped his scent was still potent enough for the hawk to remember and identify when-if-it found him.

He hurried back to the furtive bird and allowed it sufficient time to inhale the waning scent. The bird gave one last, long sqwauk before jettisoning out of the third story apartment window and out of the village.

Kakashi sat down at his desk and sifted his fingers through his shaggy hair, absently reminding himself to get a trim. Only time could tell whether or not his recipient would retrive his message. What if that bird was looking for years for him? What would befall him then? What would happen to Sakura?

He knew she was still alive. He could feel it. How alive she _would_ be when they would find her was questionable, but for now she was still existing in this world and right now that's all that mattered to him.

_Please, find him_, he prayed to the bird before heading out of his apartment.

xXx

Somewhere near the fire border, Uchiha Sasuke trekked dourly through the forest and rivers. His mood was not the greatest. Not only had he been so close to finding his brother for the umpteenth time only to have him relocate his position before the younger Uchiha could infiltrate and launch a full-on assault, but his eyesight was vapidly deteriorating each day.

Like his older brother, constant use of the Sharingan became high priority, for without it near-sightedness overtook him and his limited vision did nothing to navigate. The only two factors that told him he was near Konoha's gates was the intensity of the sun on his cheeks earlier on in the day, and the smell of supple spruce and pine, which were indigenous to Konoha.

As he poked through the swampy area with his make-shift walking stick, the screech of a hawk pierced his more sensitive ears. Glancing up in the pre-twilight night, he noticed it circling uncertainly above him, drawing closer and closer every second. What would a hawk want with him at this hour?

He continued his journey until he was no longer able to ignore the annoying sounds of the bird hurting his ears. Upon closer inspection, even with his bad eyes, he immediately recognized it to be a messenger bird. And not just any; it was from Konoha.

Was it meant for him, and if so, how had it come upon him when no one knew of his location? How had it found him when a tracker bird required a scent? He was sure that every piece of fabric that contained his scent was left in the desolate Uchiha compound, and by then whatever lingering odour would have been muted out already.

But this bird was distinctly following him now. Should he halt his progression and see what the hawk wanted? He supposed it couldn't hurt. If it was a trap he was duly ready for it, and so he beckoned the hawk to him and held aloft his forearm. The large bird landed expertly onto him without maiming his arm with its large talons, and from there it bowed to reveal the small piece of paper rolled and tucked into a thin strap.

Sasuke removed the message but the hawk lingered, even as he unrolled it and scanned its contents with fuzzy eyes. It was written in large letters, and in large font, and he was disappointed to see how it was still a struggle to make out every b from a d and e from a c.

_Red eyes,_

_this is copycat. No, this is not a joke. I need your assistance. Write back a response and send it through the bird and tell it to return to me. You may be surprised from the request I have for you._

_P.S. This is not an trap. This concerns you as well as me._

As Sasuke finished reading (and noted there was a smiley face at the end of the note with an eye-patch), he was tempted to chuck it and shoo the bird away. The wheels in his brilliant mind began rotating once more as he wondered what sort of 'assistance' the great Copycat Ninja would need from him, and exactly what kind of payment he would bring Sasuke in return. As it was, there was only one item Sasuke required desperately which would require him to break into Konoha to retrieve it. Kakashi would spare him the intricacies of his operation by doing it himself.

Not having a pen on him (because what would a blind guy do with a pen?), Sasuke concentrated his chakra into a fine tuned point and wrote his response back onto the paper, practically singing it clean through the thin material before scratching through the message Kakashi sent him. He strapped the note back to the hawk and said, "Back to your master, Kakashi," and sent the bird away.

If Kakashi could only know Sasuke was less than five miles from him, what would he have done? Sought him out himself? By the look of the bird he had paid a pretty penny to locate him.

Continuing through, Sasuke figured that if Kakashi really cared enough about his problem to trouble _him_ of all people, he would find him. Now he would play the waiting game, and slowly he would encroach upon Konoha and pass it on his real destination; Amegakure.

xXx

All Sakura could do from the moment she saw the Akatsuki occupying the forbidden second floor, was stop her heart from beating once. All traces of intoxication evaporated with the enormity of the encumbrance she placed herself into.

Before she could blink a pressure against her back sprung her back to life and her head hit something hard. Itachi's backside was in front of her when she opened her eyes. He had shoved her against the wall. At first, she bristled with indignation, but then realization settled in and the situation couldn't be any more compromising for her if she had been left out in the open. There were murderous stares boring into her; gouging her in their minds, slitting her throat, all sorts of wicked innuendos behind those loathsome stares.

Sakura didn't fail to pick up on the fact that Itachi was shielding her from the onslaught, instead of actually attacking her. The experience almost sobered her up. _Almost_. She was having a rather difficult time orienting herself and finding her center gravity. Her vision teetered and sometimes doubled, and her legs felt more rubbery than sturdy.

"Don't. Move."

Despite her instinct to raise her head to the sound she continued to stare at the Uchiha's back, wondering what was going to happen to her, how she would squirm her way out of this predicament. In her inebriated state, a strategic and logical follow-through plan was nigh impossible for her to grasp on and cling to; no matter how much she focused on remembering her potential exits and where the assailants were at all times, when and who to take out first, who to avoid, what to look for.

It almost seemed like time was progressing precariously slow, even in her drunken stupor the world around her was moving with an uncanny steadiness. Itachi in front of her seemed to barely breathe let alone move a square inch, and those eyes, all of those evil, deadly eyes that had seen slaughter and executed it themselves, roamed the scene languidly and with no rush.

Then what was the purpose of shielding her if there was no imminent threat?

Feeling as though no threat posed her (and the alcohol giving her more bravery than she should have), Sakura pushed herself out of the little hole Itachi made for her and attempted to stand beside him. A hand seized her arm roughly and kept her in place.

"I said do no move." The Uchiha ground out without ever taking his fiery eyes from the other Akatsuki.

"But they're not doing anything!" whined the kunoichi, struggling to get her arm free, attempting to use her chakra only to have it sputter out. "Stop that! Let me go!"

"Let her go Itachi, yeah," growled a voice that sounded all too familiar to the pink haired medic. "Let's have some fun with her before she rats us out."

"_Don't be foolish_," hissed another voice. "_You'd be an idiot if you decided to play around with your food, Deidara_." "Not to mention you could get hurt."

"We're not doing anything without word from Leader." Cut in Kisame, who to Sakura looked much more sober than he did when she was with him just half an hour ago. "We realize this is a bit unorthodox on our part, but right now she's not yours and we have our own business with her as well as motives."

"Tobi can play with her!" Piped a voice that to Sakura sounded like cute puppies _and_ nails on a chalk board.

"Hell no! You're _not_ using her as a playmate!" The blonde one, who she learned was Deidara, shouted rather angrily.

"_Well, you're certainly not going to, either_._"_ Said that same slithery voice, with which Sakura couldn't quite locate _where_ the voice had come from.

"But _Tobi_ is special! He can play with whoever he wants!" The boy, who adamantly introduced himself to be Tobi, received a swift kick to the gut from Deidara, as well as a scowl.

"You're too much of an embarassment, yeah. Hey, Itachi-san, why is _she_ here? And why is she drunk? Doesn't she even remember me, yeah?"

Sakura tried to forgo announcing that she was _right here_ and he was talking like she was in the other room, but her mouth was itching to open and say something that would surely compromise her more. Better to be a prisoner with their mouth shut than open. And the more she thought of it, the more he _did_ look familiar...and Deidara sounded familiar, too...

Her inebriated mind couldn't piece the puzzle together fast enough before Itachi deftly turned her around by the shoulders and lead her from the room. Protests followed them which were promptly silenced by Kisame, and the next thing Sakura knew was that she was being lead down the second flight of stairs near the exit door.

Failing to put the situation in a category of 'this-will-surely-fail,' Sakura caught Itachi off-guard by suddenly twisting from his grip with more agility than she thought she had and vaulted to the door. With her inhuman strength she channeled whatever chakra she could with the suppressent on and all but broke the door from its hinges. Hurling the door in Itachi's direction, without bothering to see if she actually hit her target, she leapt from the massive boat twenty-feet in the air and dove into the icy sea.

She had forgotten to cover her nose before pin-diving and now water plunged through her nostrils and filled her lungs. Breaking surface she coughed and attempted clearing her lungs while swimming toward the dock which seemed further away in the dark than in the day. Rapidly her vision was fading and her stomach was bottoming out. Feeling in her extremities had already been cut off by the sharp cold water around her.

Risk of extreme pneumonia and hypothermia posed a threat to her as she neared freedom, and not once did she glance back, because if she had done so she would have noticed Itachi was merely thirty feet behind her and catching up. Her arms clung to the sides of the dock and she hauled herself up with mere upper body strength alone to the top of the wooden surface.

Not wanting to increase the distance time between them, Sakura immediately sprung up on unsteady feet and began running. Without chakra enhancing her speed and allowing her to cover more ground she felt like she was walking, but the tightness in her calves and thighs told her she _was_ running, but oxygen and blood depletion to her limbs left her with little energy to go far.

Just as she thought she was clearing her 'safe' zone, something stabbed her in the back and she collapsed. Shock overtook her and her blood pressure spiked, her numb blue lips parted as she lost the ability to shiver and rattle her teeth. The pain lancing through her insides paralyzed her, and through her foggy state she was aware he had sanctioned whatever chakra she was using to limit her escape.

Just as Sakura was about to pass out, something dark and willowy appeared before her. Before darkness succumbed, red eyes was all she remembered, and the sensation of feeling weightless overtook her...

xXx

_Red eyes,_

_this is copycat No, this is not a joke. I need your assistance. Write back a response and send it through the bird and tell it to return to me. You may be surprised from the request I have for you._

_P.S. This is not an ambush. This concerns you as well as me._

_Copycat,_

_meet me at the Sari lake at 1:20 am. And bring the Uchiha scroll from the compound. I'm sure you know what this is._

Kakashi continued to read line-by-line of the message he received back not an hour ago. Impulsively checking his watch every hour, he now had only one to actually go to the compound and retrive the scroll.

He knew all about its existence, and yet he was stuck pondering for the past two hours as to why Sasuke would need it, and why he had never taken it with him in the first place. Being the last Uchiha to step foot in that compound should have guaranteed that he would have brought it with him for safe-keeping, as only an Uchiha could open and decipher the contents of the scroll.

What the scroll's contents were was only permissable and knowledgeable by an Uchiha, so Kakashi had no such interest in it though. But why would Sasuke...?

Having no more time to waste asking himself _why_, Kakashi left his apartment with the intent on getting Sakura back at any cost, even when Pakkun, his faithful pug and ninken, stopped him by the doorway.

"You would do something as rash as this, wouldn't you?" chided the small dog sourly, trotting toward his master with his nails clicking on the hardwood surface.

"Pakkun, now's not the time,"

"I can smell deception and intent on you, Kakashi. Don't try and fool me into thinking what you're about to do isn't serious."

"You've no idea." Kakashi didn't spare another word to his favourite ninken before vanishing from the tiny pug's sight, and even then the dog was having mixed feelings on whether or not to obey his master or to rebel and protect him.

"He's a big pup, he can handle himself." The pug admonished to himself none too well, and settled for making a bed at the foot of Kakashi's futon.

xXx

Kakashi concealed himself beneath an old spruce which had fallen last fall in a rain storm, checking his wrist watch every two seconds. If there was a moment in history where Hatake Kakashi, infamous Copycat Ninja and the youngest jonin in Konoha was known for, it was for his tardiness. However, tonight he could not afford to let such a problem get in the way of getting his Sakura back.

1:18 am. Damn. Two more minutes.

It was an interesting meeting point, Kakashi had thought when reading the scroll Sasuke had brought him. He hadn't been even sure the young Uchiha had remembered it, let alone remembered what had happened that night so many years ago.

Once returning from the mission in the Mist and having lost both Momochi Zabuza and Haku, the team had stopped a few hours outside of Konoha next to this very lake to camp one last time before returning to the mundane taskings of D-class missions. Relieving themselves, they concocted a bonfire and gathered all of their rations and cooked them all in a meager feast for their efforts.

Morals boosted, Naruto could hardly contain his excitement as he recited the day's events, from the moment they stepped foot into the village, to where they fought for their lives for the first time. Sasuke was complacent and focused on his meal, as per usual. But it had been Sakura who was quiet as well, striking Kakashi the wrong way. Naruto was too immersed in his own story to notice.

"And then when Haku came after me with all of those senbon-I mean, did you even _see_ how many he threw at me, sensei?-I just jumped right out of the way and-"

The rest of the words became lost to Kakashi as he stared curiously at his female subordinate, wondering what was occupying her mind. He knew she wouldn't be open to talk about it, but when he was making an effort to boost their spirits, he wanted all of Team Seven to enjoy themselves.

"Sakura?"

Her pink head snapped up and regarded him warily. "Y-yes, sensei?"

"Could you come over here for a moment?" Kakashi didn't waste time looking behind his shoulder to know that the kunoichi was following him, and even then he made sure to stand a good hearing distance away from the other shinobi. He leaned over slightly to be more eye-level with her, having to bend nearly at the waist to see her head-on. "Is there something the matter, Sakura? You don't seem to be yourself tonight."

Pink hue dusted her cheeks and she averted his eyes. "No, no, sensei! I'm fine. It's just..." she trailed off, worrying her lower lip.

"Sakura," her green eyes met his one, "you can tell me anything, okay? Don't feel uncomfortable. So, tell me, what's wrong?"

As if a dam had burst from years of holding back a massive tidal wave, Sakura began choking and sobbing. Kakashi, unused to having crying females around him, awkwardly tried to pull her into a comforting embrace, but only managed to stuff her nose into his armpit.

"Ugh, sensei! Lemme go!" she struggled and he freed her. Her fingers daintily wiped away the tears in her eyes. "I just don't know what to do about this, sensei. I'm so confused!"

Maybe he missed something while she was murmuring in his armpit... "Confused about what?"

"He almost died today, sensei! I was so worried..."

He didn't have to be a genius to know she was referring to Sasuke. Fortunately for everyone, he had survived, but Sakura was deeply affected by this traumatizing experience. It was one of the moments in his career he could remember ever doubting her abilities to become a serious kunoichi, and not one of the last, either.

"He's fine now, Sakura. He's going to be in situations like this all of the time because of his chosen career. People die all of the time, Sakura. You need to learn, as a shinobi, to overcome those losses and look out for the people who are alive."

"But-!"

"There are no buts. Go back and eat something, okay? Everything's fine."

Foolishly, he sent her back to her meal. It was later that evening that the docile look in her eyes returned and she looked more vulnerable than before. Did something happen again that he wasn't aware of?

But she didn't acknowledge such a question when he asked and silently she crawled into her sleeping bag, and though her breathing evened out, he knew she wasn't sleeping. Quite interestingly, Sasuke wasn't sleeping either. Were they both really trying to fool him? Nonetheless, he feigned sleep as well, and it wasn't long before he heard their sleepings bags unzip and they crawled out and into somewhere they deemed private.

With his fine-tuned ears he was able to hear them startlingly well.

"Why do you have tears in your eyes?"

"I was scared, okay? I didn't think you lived..."

"Sakura, don't be so stupid. I'm alive now, don't think about that anymore."

"It's not that easy, okay? I just wanted to let you know how I felt. It was really bothering me. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you..."

"If you're going to be a serious shinobi, Sakura, then come to expect these sort of things. Don't be a little girl anymore. Gods, it's annoying when you bite your lip like that... we should go back to bed before Kakashi-sensei hears us."

"Um, okay."

As the two stumbled from the foliage, Kakashi had caught Sasuke's eyes that told him he had been listening. Not long after they returned to Konoha did Sasuke leave, and that cold look was the same he had worn when he met his eyes that night.

Now Kakashi was brought back to the present. Eagerly, he glanced at his watch. 1:20 am. It was time.

Flashing out of the bushes, he left himself wide open, but it only crossed his mind once when a black figure manifested from the girth of the forest. Kakashi could recognize him even without the chakra signature, and to have met him on such short notice told Kakashi Sasuke hadn't been too far away after all.

_There's 10,000 yen I'll never get back..._

"Kakashi," the stoic voice greeted him. Nothing but business as usual. "Do you have the scroll?"

"I do." Kakashi took it from his bag and presented it. "Now I have a request for you."

"Don't you think that's it's funny?" said Sasuke drolly, as he began advancing closer toward the copynin. "That you, of all people, would want my help with something? What is it, Kakashi? You're aware of my impairment, I assume?"

"Yes. You probably can't even see your own hand if you extended it in front of you. But I need your ears more than your eyes."

Sasuke watched as Kakashi twiddled the scroll in his hands. "I'm listening," he pursued.

"I need your ears outside of the village so I can stay close and search. I need you to locate one Haruno Sakura."

It was almost imperceptible, but Sasuke's eyes did widen, whether in disbelief or in surprise he wasn't sure. At least he caught his interest.

"I need you to find her for me outside of the fire country. I can't afford to take Naruto and Sai with me on an excursion when he's prepping for Hokage." Maybe he said too much, but if Kakashi was willing to allow _Sasuke_ of all people to find Sakura, rudimentary information like Naruto becoming Hokage was probably international news by now.

Sasuke seemed more smug, however. "Hokage now, eh? After all this time he actually managed to..." He righted himself and focused on the task at hand. "Now why _me_, Kakashi? Why would you want me of all people to find her?"

"You've been to places, haven't you? And I have what you want. Plus, should you find Sakura, she would come back with you." As much as Kakashi hated to admit it, she _would_ trust him, and it worried him.

"But why would I know her whereabouts? Where do you want me to start looking? Do you have any-" Sasuke cut himself off, lost in thought. Kakashi waited semi-patiently for the young man to collect himself, and when he did it seemed he had an epiphany. He was smiling broadly. "I may know _exactly _where she is, after all. And it's right on my route. So I will take you up on this request. Give me the scroll."

Before Kakashi made a move to lend it to him, he said, "Where do you suppose she is?"

Sasuke seemed wary about revealing that bit, more focused on capturing the scroll. "I don't know _precisely_ where she is, but that scroll can help me find her if I think I am correct, which, almost undoubtedly, I am." He gave his former sensei an earnest look of 'I-know-what-I'm-doing.'

He had no other solid option, after all. He handed the scroll to the young Uchiha, and the instant the other hand touched the scroll a spark struck Kakashi and electricity raced up his arm. He recoiled and stared in bewilderment at his smoking hand. Sasuke merely smiled.

"Sorry. It doesn't like an outsider touching it when its around others." Sasuke shouldered the scroll in his backpack and pantomimed tipping his hat. "Good doing business with you, sensei." Whether the suffix was meant to spite Kakashi didn't know, but right now all he _did_ know was that this problem was being taken care of after all.

As Kakashi started home, a presence alerted him not too far away. Shit. He had been caught.

"What're you doing, sensei?"

xXx

A/N: I wonder what Sasuke's gonna do with that scroll, hee hee. You're welcome to take some guesses. You'll find out soon, however.

If you honestly like this fic, or you have some concerns/questions/critiquing for this story, review.

~Rei


	10. The Pursuit

**A/N: **Udates are slow, yes, but life happens. Thanks for sticking with me though. Your feedback is much appreciated, even if I don't always respond.

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Naruto. _Harder to Breathe _by Maroon 5 is not owned by me.

xXx

_When it gets cold outside and you've got nobody to love,  
>understand what I mean when I say<br>there's no way we're gonna give up._

Something soft but hard was felt on her lips. Her chest and lungs burned with each fake breath being given to her, her fingers and toes were numb, and with each pounding on her chest sent a convulsion through her body. Sputtering, Sakura scrambled to sit up after she felt her world sinking back into focus, only to find that what she was staring at was a white ceiling and she was perched upon a cot with blankets wrapped tightly around her legs and torso, but her chest was exposed except for her soaking bindings.

What she _didn't_ notice at first was that Itachi loomed beside her, watching her with cold, red eyes.

Her fist went flying and connected with something before she was being pinned down to the bed. Screeching, she tried to yank up the blankets modestly and to cover herself to her neck before realizing that even the little expended amount of energy reduced her to wilting. She was released, and a hand was placed on the small of her back but she flinched away from the touch, not believing that Uchiha Itachi had his _lips_ all of hers!

She was laying in the hallway of the first floor just outside of her room, stuffed with blankets and heating pads. No sign of anyone else aboard the ship had her worrying that maybe something bad had happened, but then she clued in to the fact that he was purposely suppressing all of her chakra like a dam to a river, so detecting outside entities was nigh impossible without it.

Desperately, Sakura tried to collect her thoughts whilst ignoring Itachi's piercing stare.

_Okay, you dove off the side of the boat without _any_ strategy and he was resuscitating you. He _saved_ you, Sakura! Don't be a fool and at least _thank_ him!_ Sakura internally berated herself, a hand coming up to wipe away strands of her pink hair from her face. With more civility she regarded Itachi levelly, only to find that his face was utterly emotionless.

Her lips formed the words 'thank you' but no sound emitted. Her cheeks flared red hot when she remembered that he had given her CPR, and had in fact saved her life, but why should she feel grateful for someone who brought her back just to keep her captive again? She found herself becoming docile when she noticed that she had actually punched his nose. It was slightly askew and already forming a bruise, blood dripping down one nostril, but he was impassive as ever to what she did to him.

"Are you all right?" Itachi intoned, giving her a once-over, and she had to remind herself that she was fully covered and he wasn't being a pervert.

"Yes," she replied, but she wasn't; she felt like a ton of bricks had fallen on her and crushed her.

"What you did was utterly ridiculous. You couldn't possibly have figured you had a chance of escaping in your conditions." He was chastising her as if she were a five year-old.

But her sleep addled mind didn't care that he was lecturing her. Her body was freezing despite the enormous amounts of blankets that coated her, and she was sporting a massive headache.

"How long was I out?" she finally asked through a cotton-mouth.

"Seven minutes."

"Ah," she replied lamely. Gods, did her throat feel parched.

"Why did you attempt to escape?"

The question itself was simple, but it implied two things; one, he thought her incapable of being able to escape on her own (although she had been, in her defense, inebriated and rash), and two; like he assumed her being kept here was based on her willingness to be here, as if he had already broke her. It almost made her want to laugh, but had to remind herself bursting out into hysterical laughter wouldn't justify her rationality and sanity.

"Like I _want_ to be..." she settled for murmuring, hiding behind a curtain of her pink tresses that were damp and on the verge of solidifying from the cold.

"Is it possible, perhaps, that you simply don't wish to reveal the whereabouts of my Ryuukaton?"

"I told you I don't know where it is!"

Itachi merely blinked at the volume of her voice and seemed to give up once again on the interrogation. "You may want to make sure you don't have any permenant brain damage. You were oxygen deprived for three minutes. Also, the ship will be departing in two days." Deftly, he stood and made his way up the staircase, leaving Sakura to her own devices, and to wonder how she would truly get away from him now.

xXx

"Kakashi-sensei?"

It had taken said ninja more than five minutes to find where his tongue had went. Meanwhile, his mind was racing to find some sort of an excuse to come up with should the blonde not have noticed to whom he had been talking to. But how much _had_ the boy seen? Would he think Kakashi was a liar and a scumbag for not apprehending the lost Uchiha when he had the chance?

"Kakashi-sensei..."

"Sorry," Kakashi said with a dry mouth. "What was I doing, exactly?"

"You seemed to be talking to yourself," Naruto folded his arms across his broad chest. "I think my sensei's so old he's going senile. Maybe even dementia." He said this with a worried expression on his face.

"Oh, no." Kakashi waved him off. "Nothing like that. Just out here," he expertly flipped open a page from his _Icha Icha Runaway_ from his pocket and selected a dog-eared page, "just catching up on my reading is all."

Though Naruto appeared to have accepted the simple gesture, something gleaned behind his cobalt eyes that hinted to Kakashi the boy knew more than what he let on.

"O-kay." Naruto drawled, spinning on his heel and stalking off.

Kakashi's shoulders slumped in relief.

Whatever Naruto had seen, obviously it hadn't been Sasuke, otherwise he would have gone on a full rampage through the forest to retrieve his comrade. And he wouldn't have been so calm about it, either. Thanking his lucky stars, the Copycat Ninja strode off in the direction of the village, only to feel Naruto's normally quiescent chakra explode nearby into what could only be him in his fox-cloak.

"Naruto!" He shouted, bunching his legs and taking off into the direction of the large amount of chakra. He should have known he had accepted his excuse so easily. The boy was no longer a force to be trifled with, seventeen and already the strongest ninja in the Fire country. And if Kakashi didn't push himself to the limits and catch up to him, Naruto would undoubtedly catch up to Sasuke and learn the truth of their union.

xXx

Sasuke had felt the enormous amont of chakra pursing him after he left Kakashi, and knew the only person who could be tailing him had to be Naruto.

_Dope,_ Sasuke thought caustically as he swerved onto another branch, his Sharingan straining in the dim light to give him some semblence of an outline to follow. Tree branches and other animal critters were particularly hard to spot in the dark, and when moving at the pace he was at, everything just became an unfocused blur 360 degrees around him.

His feet helping him to maneuvre swiftly from branch to branch, the entity was vastly approaching, and unless Sasuke wanted to be hunted all night he would have to stop and confront his pursuer. Naruto, he knew, could be one of the most hard-headed people on the planet when he set his mind to something, and if he was intent on not having Sasuke leave he would sure find a way to make it possible. And, as an inconvenience, had to jeopardize the new 'mission' his former sensei appointed him and not get a chance to finally locate and kill Itachi.

Weighing his options, the Uchiha fled off hard to the right, throwing a cloud of dust behind his back for good measure. The dust would eliminate all traces of his scent, and with any luck it would deter Naruto enough so he could make an escape to the Rock country.

Another few hundred meters and Sasuke was unable to detect any persons around him, so he figured something as simple as his scent absorbing dust was enough to mislead the great Uzumaki Naruto away from him. Relying mostly on his sixth sense, he ventured into thicker depths of the forest around him as he was crossing nearer and nearer to the border every step. He had taken an alternate route, one he wasn't so sure if Naruto knew about, a route that cut straight through the thicker densities of the forest which signified he was far away from Konoha, and this would take him straight on his path to Iwa.

Suddenly he felt the chakra of a nearby shinobi, and concealing his, dashed lower to the ground in attempt to find shetler in the canopies of leaves. It was hot on his trail, and though he wasn't so sure if the chakra belonged to Naruto, he was almost certain it belonged to someone else. Nevertheless, he continued brusquely and never slowed, determined to out-run this one, too. After another two clicks, he decided to confront this unknown nin.

His heel upturned the bark off of a low hanging branch as he deftly spun around, stopping with his chakra upon his heels. Drawing his sword from his back since his pursuer was drawing vastly nearer, he strained his chakra to the blood vessels to his eyes to work his Sharingan to its full extent, which granted him more visibility, but already his eyes were pulsating in his skull and his chakra was depleting vapidly.

Only a hundred feet, a female shinobi halted on a branch horizontal to him. It took him a moment to piece the face into his memory, but when he recognized her, it was tough to say that he was indeed surprised.

"U-um..." stammered the kunoichi, her feet shifting nervously. Her pale eyes stared at him, the veins in her eyes gradually diminishing as she, too, recognized her enemy. "S-Sasuke, kun?"

"Hinata." Sasuke said magnanimously, withdrawing his weapon. "Why are you following me?"

The girl let out a tiny squeak, but after that, he noticed something transformed with her since he'd last seen her. "I heard a commotion, and I found Naruto-kun. He... he must have been chasing you, and I calmed him down. I sent him back, b-but then..."

"You went after me yourself?" he supplied, clearly unimpressed by the replacement reconnaissance.

"W-well, yes. I didn't want Naruto-kun to hurt himself."

Something striked Sasuke; a sudden epiphany. It alerted him the moment Hinata activated her Byakugan when he tensed ever so slightly at the thought that she was here to attack him. Such perception... and her eyesight must be perfect, too, and with her kekkai genkai, no doubt she could see kilometers away, and maybe even the traces of chakra trails if she were a high calibre shinobi.

"How far can you see, Hinata?" he asked almost nonchalantly, but it startled the Hyuuga heiress into taking a defensive stance. "I'm merely curious. You mut be able to see at least eight clicks away, am I right?"

Shyly, her head bowed and her eyes averted him. "Ten, actually... More than Neji-nii-san..."

"Well, that's quite impressive."

Her head shot up, eyes scrutinizing him, but the compliment it appeared to have been genuine.

"What're you getting at, Sasuke-kun?"

He smirked in the darkness. His genius mind began weighing his options, and if he were to carry out the mission Kakashi had bestowed upon him so suddenly he would need further assistance. His Sharingan could work only for so long, and even then its affects would take a toll on him and would render him blind for hours at a time. And when it came to tracking, what better than a Hyuuga. If he had an Inuzuka, he would have utilized him, too.

Hinata was a much better choice though; a push-over, willing to concede to anything to help out her friends, and easily intimidated. He'd seen as much at the Chuunin exams, and knew it would be worthwhile for her to help him.

"Do you know that Sakura is missing?"

Shock registered on Hinata's face. Sasuke took that as a no. "I'm going to find her."

"To capture her?"

"No. I'm not the one who wants her."

"Then who?"

"Kakashi. He wants me to search for her, since he can't afford to do it himself." There was evident doubt on her face, and it was all he needed. "I could find her faster and more efficiently if I had eyes like yours."

Again, that weary, cautious stance was taken and it almost made Sasuke laugh. He had her, and though she didn't know it yet, she would soon.

"If you help me, we can both find her. You do know who has her, don't you?"

Hinata solemnly shook her head.

"My brother. Uchiha Itachi."

A scowl formed on her normally passive face. "You're lying."

The younger Uchiha smirked and crossed his arms. "It's true. He took her. And Kakashi knows it, too. So, what'll it be? You can help me find her and bring her back to her haven, get all the credit, and I'll be on my way. Deal?"

It almost appeared to him as if she would accept; but then Sasuke should have assumed there would be a catch.

"I will only help you," she began, lowering her upraised palms and deactivating her bloodline limit, "if you agree not to harm Naruto-kun again."

_What a foolish, foolish girl..._ Little did Hinata know, his interest in Naruto went as far as his interest in potting plants. But if it was all it took to get her on his side, then so be it.

"I won't go after him."

And if Sasuke were crazy, he could've sworn he saw a small smile on her face. "All right. I'll help you."

xXx

Now, Sasuke may have been a half-blind man and a knack for getting into trouble, but when looking for a missing nin who happened to be his former teammate back in his genin days, one could say he was a little... persuasive when hunting for information.

"I'm sure you admire that... handsome face of yours, Mr. Nakamoto. And, if you want to keep it, you must tell me the last place you spotted Uchiha Itachi."

"W-who?" the blubbering, two hundred pound overweight man sputtered. "I assure you I've never seen anyone-"

"Oh, spare me." The sword dug another inch into the man's tender flesh under his clavicle. "You've been sniffing around as much as I have because you're his messenger, aren't you? Well, if it's money you want then I have it. Now, where was the last time you heard of him?"

The man was still refusing to loosen his tongue, so Sasuke decided to do it for him; with one swift motion he unhinged the man's shoulder socket from his body and his arm fell almost mutedly to the ground. Before Mr. Nakamoto could utter a whimper Sasuke caught his tongue with his hand, yanking particularly hard, but not so hard as to rip it from his mouth.

"I think that may be your cue to tell me before I dismember you even more."

Sasuke let the man's tongue go and like a crow he began to sqwuak.

"The last time I heard of Mr. Uchiha-sama he was inquiring about purchasing a ship from a dealer! That's all I know I swear!" Sasuke released the man and allowed him to nurse his wounds while fleeing the scene before the man could call reinforces.

Securely on the outside of the small village, Sasuke extracted the Uchiha scroll from the hidden pouch in his scroll, undoing the jutsu and expanding it to its exact size. This would be the first time he used the scroll out of his seventeen years, and though it was mandatory for each Uchiha member to know how to utilize the scroll and decipher its contents when he came of age and developed the Sharingan, unfortunately for Sasuke he had no family when he had matured.

So, acting on instinct and conjuring fuzzy memories from when his father and older brother were to use it, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and opened the contents. To a normal man, the normal kanji scripture would become as indecipherable as jibberish. But to Sasuke it gradually revealed contents of the Uchiha's family tree, origins, secret jutsu, and finally, rare artifacts.

Written there was the Ryuutakon and how to conjure it; reveal its location; break the bond with the user; break the seal; and various other pieces of information that were incrucial to him at the moment.

Sasuke gathered his chakra and began analyzing through hazy eyes the order of hand seals to find the whereabouts of the item. Tiger, ox, tiger, and dragon were what it told him to do, so he initiated it and almost instantaneously he began to feel a surge of warmth extending to the right side of his body. His arm tingling, he faced where the North was, where indeed there were no signs of water. It lead him to the Rock country Iwa, and what Itachi would do with a boat out there was anyone's guess.

Folding the scroll back into its secret compartment Sasuke headed to the meeting spot with Hinata. The kunoichi was waiting for him under the tree they had christined their rendez-vous point, and she was absently tearing off a piece of thread from her pants. Her head popped up the instant she sensed his presence, and there was question in her eyes, whether it was from having made the decision to follow a wanted missing-nin across the country to search for her missing comrade, or about if tearing the thread off had been a good decision or not.

"He said he purchased a boat and my instincts tell me he went to Iwa. I know it doesn't make much sense for him to go to Iwa with a boat with no water, but—"

"She went to Kiri."

Sasuke regarded her as if she were insane. "How would you possibly know that? And I _know_ she's in Iwa, otherwise—"

"She's not in Iwagakure. She went to Kirigakure."

He was bristling, trying to contain his anger. He didn't like being repeatedly cut off. "How would you know, anyway?"

"I can trace chakra with my Byakugan. Her trail leads away from the Rock country. It's very faint, but while you were 'interrogating' that poor man, I was following the lead. And it ends going South."

Sasuke's jaw clenched in frustration. Here she was, this insolent girl who claimed to be a higher calibre shinobi amongst her own kind, telling him _he_ was _wrong_, when clearly the scroll of the Uchiha pointed him North.

"I don't believe you. I am a hundred percent positive that she's North. There's no way I'm mistaken."

Hinata rose from her perch from beneath the massive tree to stretch her limbs. Her sight strayed away from his face. "Go North, but you won't find her there. I'll just get her myself."

Sasuke drew his weapon in the same instant Hinata activated her kekkai genkai and prepared to meet its blow with a chakra infused hand. They stood like that, several seconds ticked by, and with it went Sasuke's patience and Hinata's guileness.

"_I _say as to where we go." Sasuke gritted, reluctant to use his blade on her when she could prove useful. But if the insufferable girl changed the course of action his scroll told him about, he would have to dispose of her.

"_You_ are not correct." Her pale lavender eyes sparkled with a hidden fire he hadn't known existed until this point. Whatever happened to the downcasted eyed girl who faced against her cousin and stood no chance of conquering? Apparently, she left her at Konoha.

Sasuke sheathed his weapon once more and backed away. Should he follow her just to prove her word wrong?

"Sasuke-kun," he looked at her, his ruby eyes trying their hardest to focus clearly on her face. "I know where she is. You asked me to help, and I am. I want to save my friend unconditionally, unlike you. So you should trust me."

Grunting, the Uchiha simply stowed his pride elsewhere and nodded for her to lead. Hinata's legs bunched and she took off into the trees, directly South, quite the exact opposite of where he wanted to go. He supposed he could simply leave her behind, but right now failure wasn't an option. If he didn't do what Kakashi had requested of him he would undoubtedly hear about it for the rest of his existence.

Sasuke silently followed her, wondering where his head went.

xXx

Sakura woke sometime after dusk, having inspected the injury to her cranium and investigating any other compromising damages done to her. As of now all she had managed to find was a small concussion, a mild case of onsetting hypothermia, and cyanosis had already been flushed out of her system. Her brain still felt like there was someone with a jack-hammer doing renovations inside of her skull, but other than that she just felt exhausted.

Having slept from last night until this evening, it was almost impossible to believe that she was still sleep-deprived. Her stomach moaned wantonly for nourishment, and she'd been doing a fairly good job at ignoring it, fear of confronting Itachi—or any of the other members for that matter—keeping her locked in her quarters and starving.

Ever since Itachi resuscitated her something had changed. To place her finger on it was as hard as trying to get Naruto to shake off his diet for ramen noodles, but there definitely was something different. Whether or not this feeling was mutual, Sakura would never know, lest she leave her safe haven of her room and journey into the unknown.

But her gut was aching for food, and with a half-hearted groan she hauled her heavy laden body from under the covers and into the first floor corridor. Making her way into the kitchen she passed not a soul, and it was almost as if she were here by herself. The chakra tag upon her kept her hopes at bay, since it always hummed and throbbed when Itachi was near. Whether he was actually inside the boat or not was anyone's guess, and after finding out the hard way last night why she should stay away from the restricted vicinities she didn't need another episode.

Upon entering the kitchen something blonde struck her eye. The man she met last night, Deidara, she recalled, was rummaging through the fridge in search for food as well. Sakura stopped in her place. Well, maybe she wasn't _that_ hungry...

"Hey, you know how to cook, yeah?" asked the missing-nin as he removed one container of balogna and cheese. "I would like some steak, but..."

As if Sakura were the only one in the room who recognized this situation to be awkward, Deidara humbly strolled up to her and deposited the two items he fetched from the fridge in her hands. He looked at her as if he expected her to perform some sort of magic. "Well? Are you going to cook me something?"

Blinking, Sakura merely placed the balogna and cheese on the counter and began walking from the room, telling herself repeatedly that an S-class Iwa missing-nin was not asking her to make him supper.

On her way out she spotted the man who she'd been trying to avoid all day walking down the hall, probably in the direction of the kitchen. From the fact that his normally bland, passive face wasn't so bland and passive, Sakura wouldn't have known chaos was slowly about to ensue.

As she attempted some sort of casualty while passing, she didn't get very far—Itachi blocked her way in the narrow corrider and looked upon her with heavy eyes.

"I know you weren't lying," was all he said. Sakura was about to heave a sigh of relief before his next sentence stomped her. "Someone else is in possession of it that should _never_ have come into contact with it."

"And who's that?"

Apparently disclosing that information wasn't an option with her, and he moved past her to the kitchen to speak with Deidara. She didn't wait around for long and went back to her room, choosing to starve rather than face him again. Who could have stolen the necklace in the first place? And how would he have figured it out so quickly?

As she heaeed to her room she spotted Kisame emerging from the bathroom, sake bottle protectively tucked away under his armpit. He looked at her and smiled toothily, probably recalling her little stunt last night and the drinks they had together. As he beelined toward her she made an attempt not to look too brash. He hadn't exactly been the epitome of evil around her while she was there, so being rude wasn't the nicest thing to do.

"Hey. Wanna go drinking?" he teased, chugging the from the neck of the sake bottle. "Or you wanna go diving instead?" His raucuous laughter filled the hallway and Sakura tried not to look too grim at his jibes. He was probably drunk anyway.

"No, thanks." She took off quickly away from him, passing yet another obstacle that separated her from her sanctuary. She needed to ruminate on a more elaborate escape plan, because if they were to depart in less than forty-two hours, this one would _have_ to work.

She supposed she could have given them a major case of food poisoning, but as it was the food in the fridge was always freshly bought and nothing ever seemed to spoil. Dipping into the water to catch a hopefully contaminated fish was too risky and inprobable. Nothing aboard the ship would be able to help her concoct a serum to put them to sleep. So what?

The thought of using a genjutsu spell came and went so quickly it was almost a laugh that she even had thought of it. Using a genjutsu technique against the most skillful user in the world? Now that was worth a laugh. Unlike the others, Itachi would never fall for it. Even if she were to put him in a state where he would be most susceptible, he would see through her guise almost instantly.

But still, did it really hurt to try? Vaguely she recalled the boat-diving expedition she underwent and dismissed the thought. It would be setting herself up for suicide—or worse.

Well, maybe she didn't _have_ to put Itachi under. To her current knowledge there were others aboard the ship that she had learned in the bingo book were susceptible to genjutsu. And though she loathed to think of it, Deidara was the only one with no expertise in genjutsu that she knew of. If she somehow managed to make it convincing enough, he may help her out of the boat himself.

If the plan backfired she'd be risking a lot of hell for it, but really, what could be worse? If they sentenced her to death it would be horrible, but to know they could do much worse, it was almost inviting.

As she opened the door to her bedroom and curled back under the covers, a plan began formulating in her head, and she knew by the time she woke up, Deidara would be the victim of a very terrible kunoichi.

xXx

Somewhere in Iwa, the Ryuukaton sparked yet another electrical surge through the unknown user as its barriers were being attacked.

"Fuck, why can't I remember? I could've sworn that it would work this time..."

The fate of the world would have already been determined _if_ the stupid object had submitted to his will already and follow under his command. Yes, he was not an heir to the Uchiha, but he had garnered enough knowledge of all sorts of forbidden jutsus and artifacts that this should have looked like child's play.

As long as Uchiha Madara wasn't privy to the fact that he possessed it, he could continue to try and get the item to reveal its secrets. Ever since this item assisted in the kyuubi attack on Konoha seventeen years ago, this item was thought to be kept under guards of the Uchiha clan, for its destructive power was far too great if it could lure a tailed beast. But Sasuke, being the only Uchiha to leave the estate after the massacre of his family, took it upon himself to retrieve the item and give it to a nonsensical kunoichi of all people.

With this item being in the right hands, not only could it once again summon the kyuubi, but the other tailed beasts as well. Though seven had already been captured and sealed away, the eight and nine tails still resided in living vessels and would be much easier to extract. The others would take time, but they could not ignore the beck and call of the Ryuukaton any more than they could refuse the command of a Sharingan user.

This object also held another powerful ability he planned to utilize once he figured out the damn code...

Orochimaru, borrowing Kabuto's body, snickered in the dim light as he approached closer and closer to his goal. It wouldn't be long now. One code down, twelve more to unlock.


	11. Grand Escape II

**A/N: **Hey, sorry for the delay. My brother was recently in an accident—no worries though, he'll make a good recovery in no time.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. _Ain't No Rest For the Wicked_ by Cage the Elephant is not owned by me.

xXx

_Well I was walking down the street,  
>and out the corner of my eye I saw a pretty little thing approaching me.<br>She said, "I've never seen a man who looks so all alone, could you use a little company?"_

"I think we're getting closer," whispered Hinata as he and Sasuke sped through the forestry with unmatched speed, the steady flow of rain hampering their tract to the wooden branches, and every now and then Hinata—and occasionally Sasuke—would slip, only to catch themselves and resume their track.

Sasuke was quiet, trying to discern whether he could tell just by the scenery if they were close; his eyes proved far too weak to make out anything useful, so he went ahead and asked her. "What makes you so sure?"

"The trail I'm leading us on now, i-it's an old one of Sakura-chan's. It's a-about three days old, although I just caught sight of it now. She must have tried to escape, o-or something, because it's followed by another strong chakra signature."

_Itachi_, Sasuke thought angrily, picking up speed and following Hinata side-by-side. He didn't care if that limited his visual range since now she was no longer in it, if it meant getting to Itachi faster and getting Sakura for Kakashi out of debt, then he'd do so. Even _if _the scroll on his back was throbbing and trying to tell him that he was undoubtedly travelling the wrong way, he knew that the Hyuuga wouldn't mislead him if it meant her friend was in jeopardy.

The distinct smell of salt met his nose, and his vision seemed to grow hazier as he stepped into the border of Kirigakure. Now he would really have to depend on Hinata—not like he was going to make it obvious. He allowed himself to fall back a few feet to keep her shoulder in his conical vision, hoping that she wouldn't decide to suddenly veer off to the right and leave him blind.

"How much closer to the docks do you thi—"

"Sakura-chan!"

His senses on full alert, his Sharingan strained against the dense fog to see if he could make out the pink-haired kunoichi, but it was useless. "What? Where is she?"

"She's heading this way, two hundred meters ten o'clock!"

_Did she escape…_ He wasted no time on dwelling on this and picked up speed, giving Hinata a run for her money as she struggled to match his vicious speed. As Sasuke was just getting able to make out the shadowy figure in the distance, he had to admit he was a bit chagrinned when he realized that his missing ex-team mate was merely fifty meters in front of him and he was still barely able to discern anything unrecognizable.

"Sakura! It's me, Hinata!" the Hyuuga girl shouted louder than Sasuke had ever heard.

A chakra signature was vastly approaching, but rather than slowing down to meet her comrade, her speed seemed to increase ten-fold. He felt as the chakra drew nearer and nearer—and outright shot off past them both.

Hinata expertly whirled around on her dancer's feet and torpedoed herself in the opposite direction. Sasuke mimicked her and continued the chase, knowing that Itachi must be on her heels if she were not even slowing down for a second. She must not have been running long; no way would she be able to keep up that type of running for a longer period of time.

He bit his lip as he realized Hinata had been right after all, and that whatever his scroll had been showing him had been wrong.

Hinata had all but left him in the dust so he acted on feel and hearing alone as he dashed past tree after tree, aware of some kind of energy creeping behind him even when he picked up his speed once more. How Sakura was able to evade his brother was a mystery, and the fact that she was still full-out running and not quitting proved that she must have become a stronger shinobi than he first realized. What had happened to the little girl who cried when she was faced with tough situations? Apparently she hauled ass now.

He was finally catching up to Hinata, who was busting her ass off as well to keep within sight of her friend. "She's already got a kilometer on us. If we keep this up she'll wear out and we can catch her!"

As much as Sasuke hated this, as much as his gut was telling him not to, he couldn't help but spit out, "I'll distract Itachi! Make sure she gets back to Konoha!"

He barely was able to make out the brief nod Hinata sent him before she double-timed it after her friend. Stopping on a branch with chakra in his feet to ensure he wouldn't slip on the moldy limb, he drew his sword and closed his eyes, concentrating on the energy approaching him rapidly through the forest, and on the ones heading toward safety.

Maybe he couldn't deliver Sakura himself to Kakashi, but this way she didn't have to know about his involvement, and he preferred it this way.

The dense forest held some sort of magnetism to it, and it also was void of any sounds of forest critters, hinting to Sasuke that some sort of wraith had made its way through and scared the game all away. He steeled himself, knowing that it would take a force mighty enough to thwart his brother from pursuing his prey. A hush fell over him, and the only thing he was able to hear was his own breathing. Nothing moved; nothing dared to.

"Sasuke,"

Sasuke whipped to his right where the sound came from, but no one was there. Damn his brother and his mind-tricks. His Sharingan blazed as he located his brother's true location, and he looked below him to see a blurry black figure perched on a tree branch.

"What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!" Sasuke barked, charging his blade with chakra as he readied against any assault his brother might throw at him.

The elder Uchiha flashed from his perch to a nearby branch, his deadly eyes gleaming at his younger brother. "I came here to retrieve something, and you seem to be in my way. I do not wish to play games with you, otouto, step aside."

"In your dreams!"

Lightning licked up Sasuke's blade and lashed out at the point where Itachi once stood. He trusted his brother to move and held his attack back, swinging his blade over his head and sending another blast of lightning in the opposite direction, where he heard his brother grunt.

"You're perception is getting stronger,"

Sasuke felt an arm wrap around his neck tightly.

"But you're slower than before."

Itachi's capture turned to liquid, and he slid his arm back carefully to his side. "Or I seem to be mistaken," he mused aloud, finding his brother behind a tree fifty paces away. "Why are you here fighting with me, Sasuke? How did you find me?"

"None of your business!" Itachi ducked as his ears picked up the sound of whistling air, and dodged Sasuke's head attack. He crouched on all fours and swept his foot from beneath Sasuke's ankle, and his brother landed with a dull thud before dissipating into a thick cloud of smoke.

"I don't have time to fool around, so either fight me seriously or get out of my way."

"You're rather impatient today," commented Sasuke, appearing in an apparition before his brother. _Genjutsu,_ Itachi thought.

"I've something to collect,"

"Something that's not yours?"

Itachi smirked. "What would you care? It's not yours, either."

Sasuke growled and charged his brother, and without delay Itachi dispelled the illusion and backhanded his right shoulder, clipping Sasuke in the jaw. "I said no more tricks," Itachi warned, and caught Sasuke's wrist in his and slammed him on the ground over his shoulder, placing a foot on his exposed neck and pressing particularly hard. "I see that you hadn't protected the Uchiha treasure, since you gave it to a nonsensical girl like her. Why, Sasuke? Did you feel sentimental before walking out on your comrades? Did you do it out of love? Or were you just hoping it would lead her to me so you could find me in the end?"

"Get your fucking foot off of me!" Sasuke snarled in response, grasping a kunai strapped to his thigh and trying to stick it in Itachi's ankle, but suddenly it wasn't there. Sasuke attempted to stand, but he felt a pain on his lower jaw and stars danced across his vision, and something kept him down by his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, Itachi was standing on him.

"Answer me, or I'll kill her when I catch up."

"You're such a liar, Itachi! If you wanted to kill her you would've done so already, because she couldn't outrun you in your sleep, and you know that!"

"On the contrary," Sasuke was aware of something sharp embedding itself into his clavicle, and when he barely turned his head to the right, he saw a kunai's tip piercing his clothes and through the thin layer of skin. "I could have killed her yesterday, after finding out the information I needed. And there is a reason why I couldn't catch her, but I'm not about to tell you. Now come out from behind that tree and fight me, Sasuke, like you always want to."

The clone disappeared beneath his sandaled foot and the younger Uchiha stepped out from behind a large red wood, smirking faintly. "You never want some family bonding time, do you?"

Itachi quirked a brow, "And you do, otouto?"

Sasuke swiftly rolled up his left sleeve and charged his chakra, propelling himself faster than the speed of sound. "I was never a 'family' person. Chidori!"

xXx

"Sakura, you must rest, y-your chakra's very drained."

Yet Sakura strained to put more and more distance from her and Itachi, pushing Hinata way beyond her limits, and soon she would be reaching hers, too. The whole reason why she had escaped was too much for her to think about in the heat of the moment, the idea that it had actually worked fueled her staying power and pushed her onwards. That is, until she came across Hinata unexpected.

She hadn't had time to ask her how she had found her, or who that other person was she had been with, or barely even a hello; but now, facing the last bits of strength and having them painfully being burned through her system, she required a break.

Hinata located them a fine little cave with enough space for both of them to rest in. Sakura dragged her half dead body to the inside and sat against the cool stony wall, watching without commitment as Hinata gathered pine needles and twigs of birch and cedar. As Hinata began to create a tiny fire, Sakura took out a tiny vial and released the safety catch, jabbing the half inch long needle into her thigh and feeling every single bit of strength leaving her.

"S-Sakura?" Hinata gasped when she turned to see her friend had collapsed onto her side, barely conscious. "Sakura, what happened!"

But all around Sakura, darkness shrouded her, and soon she was being pulled under in what she hoped was simply sleep.

xXx

Not a sound was heard as Itachi's dead body slumped to the ground fifty feet from the sky, or maybe it was because Sasuke's deafness in one ear.

He dropped down after the body and witnessed it crash to the ground. Limping toward it, the shock of black hair was enough to prove to him that he really was dead, and that he had finally fulfilled his goal. But as he approached, the black that he had mistaken as hair was something else, and it was moving—ravens. They scattered about everywhere, leaving the Akatsuki cloak on the ground with no Itachi.

"Son of a bitch,"

He reached for his sword once more, and felt the sheath beneath his fingers, and the cool metal of the handle. What he did not feel was the Uchiha scroll that had been strapped to his back five minutes ago, when he…

"Want this?"

Sasuke swung around to the good ear and saw his brother sitting on the nearest branch with the scroll tucked under his arm. "Give it back!" he barked, about to sprint into his direction, when his foothold on his energy slipped and he came crashing back down.

"I think this is a fair trade, don't you? You can keep the girl now that she's no longer useful to me, and I'll keep this."

"You… bastard… "

Without a word Itachi disappeared in a rush of ravens.

Now Sasuke was furious: he lost the scroll; lost Sakura; and lost his brother again. He knew that hunting Itachi now would be futile, so he had to stick with finding Sakura and Hinata and hoping that they managed to make it out in one piece. He didn't wish to give Kakashi the bad news that he had gotten one of his only three students killed—it would be a waste of an effort on his part.

xXx

"You _d-did _what!"

Sakura moaned as the volume of Hinata's voice rose each time she relayed a piece of her masterful escape plan, and although this had been a little farfetched, that had truly happened.

"R-repeat it, p-please! I just can't… imagine… "

"Neither can I, but it happened," Sakura grumbled.

So Sakura explained yet again how she had managed to escape the infallible, emotionless, and crude Uchiha Itachi and his band of 'merry' men.

Sakura finding a drug in the location of the ship seemed almost impossible; none of them took antibiotics that could kill you if you overdosed, and none of them had diabetes so penicillin was off the list, too. And since the food never seemed to run out or spoil, food poisoning couldn't be used without suspicion. So what was she to do? Her obvious victim—should a solution present itself—would be Deidara, the rambunctious, blonde shinobi who appeared more gullible than the others, and also the more laid back.

So she had begun to learn his habits the day before they departed, watching as he constantly rummaged through the fridge and had many a bitch fit to the fact that it never seemed to be properly stalked with all the 'important food groups.'

Sakura had been lounging outside of her bedroom, knowing that the majority of the Akatsuki members seemed to be on the restricted second floor, feeding a stale piece of bread to the mice that populated the abandoned ship idly, thinking of a strategy. The white rat that sometimes came around—she named him Raito—and scattered all the mice when he came, nibbling generously on the food she provided for him.

The sound of Deidara's constant banter with this tall, spiky haired, orange-masked man could be heard from down the hall. They were always bickering—Sakura often compared them to Sasuke and Naruto when they had been younger, friendlier rivals, when training meant play-time and missions meant fetching the old lady's cat out of a tree.

Just as Sakura had been stroking the rat's fur, an idea popped into her head when something popped out of the rat. Feces, Sakura thought, even though the idea made her giggle somewhat. Rats often contained parasites and diseases in their stool, or inside of them, and when improperly cooked, could carry on into another live host and roost there, and cause sickness, and sometimes death if fatal enough. The question was; what kind of disease was it carrying now? There were a plethora of things that it could have that wouldn't be able to scratch the surface of an Akatsuki, so if she took the chance, would it incapacitate them quickly enough for her to escape?

The only real way was to experiment, and with the limited amount of resources presented to her, it wasn't going to be an easy one. _There has to be a medical kit somewhere. Maybe in the kitchen…_

Sakura slowly stood from her corner and gently picked up Raito, carefully cradling the squealing rodent in her bosom and carrying him into the kitchen. Thankfully, no one was around for an afternoon snack, and just as she had thought the First Aid kit was nestled in the crook of the fridge and counter, where possibly a needle would be. It was her only hope.

Keeping a careful eye on all of her blind spots she took the kit out from the corner and scurried to her room, shutting the door soundlessly and placing Raito on her mattress. "Stay right there, I'm going to need you."

Deftly snapping the latches, she shuffled through a few standardized band-aids, gauze, a pair of scissors, sewing kit, and burn gel. Nothing. Deflating, she was about to close the kit and return it, but an unopened package strapped to the bottom of the box caught her eye. And there she held it; the weapon of her choice, the sterile packaged needle.

Sakura turned to Raito, who squeaked his approval and danced a lap around the mattress, and said, "Now, I need you to do your business, and quickly! I don't have much time."

After two painstaking hours of locating something to grow the bacteria in, her rewards were a few bottle caps, and to preserve the bacteria for growth she found a tiny tea cup with soft serrated edges in the kitchen cabinets, as well as a turkey baster. She collected the tiny drops of feces and placed them in one of the bottle caps and filled it with the urine she managed to find in the hallway where rats did their business willingly, and sealed it with the tea cup on top, oxygen flowing through frequently to sport some sort of growth.

By the midnight, nine hours later, she had somewhat of a satisfactory bacteria build up in the concoction, and although the severity of the bacteria would cause greater harm if it were allowed to grow over for a few days, she hardly had the time since today was departure day.

So she patiently waited until six o'clock in the am for the stir of movement within the ship, first hearing one descend the metal stairs, and then three, and soon all but she and one other person remained absent for at breakfast. Suspicion would not arise in her direction, since she hardly felt dignified to attend breakfast with a bunch of criminals hell-bent on destroying her best friend, so she placated her time, and advanced to the dragon's den.

Checking her little biology project, the results weren't perfect but she bottled them in the tiny turkey baster nonetheless, careful not to spill the contents and conceal it within her shirt. She hoped that this little vial that was her ticket out of here would contain something to poison them, or even to deter them for an hour so she could put distance between them. She would hit all at once, and this act alone would require such precise skill and focus that one slip would mean she would never get home to Konoha.

Entering the kitchen area, the air grew thick and fetid, like all of them were just discussing how to murder her. _Maybe they already suspect!_ She thought but shoved the irrational idea away. They literally had no clue what she did behind her bedroom doors, and hardly any of them found it strange when she fed her little rodent friends. So, keeping it cool and walking across the room a little stiffly, she passed by an unknown man who had feral green eyes.

The vial had been in her sleeve from the moment she entered, and, with so much precision and accuracy thrown into it, she squirted a little bit of the foul liquid into the man's cereal bowl without catching anyone's attention.

How she managed to do it was unfathomable, but it gave her such a high, she merely squirted a tiny drop into the masked man's bowl as well, hitting Kisame's and a white and black cactus's bowl, too. On her way back to her seat, she had effectively poisoned each and every one of their bowls without rising suspicion, so she thought it appropriate to eat her meal heartily and watch as every single one of them feasted on her poison and sent cursory glances in her direction.

_But damn, where's Itachi at?_

She bit her bottom lip and shoved a spoonful in her mouth, trying not to look so obviously discomforted. But someone noticed, and Kisame cleared his throat awkwardly, and she could see by a glance his face was a bit contorted.

"So, uh, what did we do to be blessed with your company, sugar?"

Sakura wished she could kick him under the table, but at that same instant, Kisame's eyes bulged and he was gripping his stomach in earnest.

"I-I'll be right back," he shuffled out of the room rocket speed, and soon the masked man followed, and just to play it up, Sakura clutched her stomach and shoved her chair from under her.

"I don't know how old that cereal is, but I—" she expertly covered her mouth with a slap of her hand and peeled out of her room, heading to her bathroom, careening against the concrete floors in her rush to the bathroom—or freedom, that is.

Turning a sharp corner with her hand still covering her mouth, a black figure to her right caught her eye. Itachi. She continued on, hoping he would ignore her, but there had never been an instant when he thought something wasn't up.

"Where are you going in such a rush?"

Sakura paled. "Everyone's sick, I'm just returning to my room. I don't want to catch what they have."

She tried not to show a nervous expression when he undoubtedly questioned the expiry date on the food items, but he must have been nervous when she told him everyone else wasn't feeling, well, either.

"Sick, are they?" he mused, grabbing her forearm and hauling her behind him. "How about we take a look,"

Sputtering, Sakura halted and for her Itachi stopped. His eyes quizzed her, and she gulped.

"W-wait, um, why the rush? I was actually coming by to see you for something… "_Oh god, what am I doing, what am I doing, WHAT am I DOING?_

Itachi released her arm. "What is it?"

Sakura had no time to think; she just acted. Her lips mashed together with his and her tongue rolled around his lips, and though he wasn't responding, he hadn't pushed her away.

Hating herself, she played into the little scheme even more, tickling the hair at the nape of his neck and toying with his earlobe with her tongue.

_Please, let me live after this! I don't want to die with everyone knowing it was because I seduced him!_

Abruptly, she felt herself being pushed away. She pouted, and though the response came involuntarily, she played up her big doe eyes for him and fluttered her lashes.

"What's wrong? I thought you would want this, since you're always coming on to me… "

"Do you think I'm a fool?"

His words slapped her, but she maintained her poise. "But this is what you want, right? I want this. I've been wanting it for a long while… "

Doing what she never thought was possible for her; she pushed herself into his torso and wrapped her arms around him, crushing her lips to his once more. This time she was rewarded with a reply. His lips moved between hers in a way that stabbed a hot and cold sensation in her stomach, one she didn't wish to explore.

He led her to his bedroom, and in her head she was telling herself that this wasn't betrayal, it was survival. This was how the kunoichi back before the war behaved, like starved whores who got their information by seduction and sometimes killing their hits.

His hand came to feel her breast, gentle at first, but he groped it firmly. She bit his lip, but it was more like a nip, which seemed to urge him on further rather than stop him. As her head was settled upon his pillow, she thought, _what am I doing, what am I doing…_

"You don't seem so sure about this anymore," Itachi murmured against her navel, and unwillingly chills raced up through her limbs.

"No, I want this!"

His blood-red eyes stared at her impassively, and his nimble fingers worked with her shirt and removed it, unclasping her bra, drinking her in with a need she never thought he had. As her body was being utilized by this monster, this creature, she plotted many ways to knock him out for a short duration without the use of chakra.

His ministrations continue, until being quiescent is no longer an option. Muffled noises escape her lips unbidden, and she finds herself squirming beneath his heated touch. His mouth moves to the curve of her neck, tracing a gentle trail with his slick and hot tongue. Sakura felt lost, a blurred line between right and wrong, when ecstasy awaited her.

Pulling herself together, she concentrated on pretending to be enjoying the experience (even though, regretfully, it wasn't all that hard), and bucked her hips against his, earning a groan that echoed through the room.

Finding her courage, she took charge, straddling his narrow but lethal torso and concentrating her energy on his lower regions. The bulge in his pants caught her attention, and she gently stroked it, watching with curiosity as his eyes flickered and closed sensuously.

_Could this really be that easy?_ She thought, trying not to balk when she completely engulfed him in her hand, stroking and averting her gaze. Without a plan, which seemed to work better at taking people off guard, she gripped him particularly hard. She brought her mouth down, ignoring the way he rolled his hips against her chin, and bit, _hard._

Before he could reach out and incapacitate her, she withdrew her mouth and struck out to his carotid artery, knocking him out faster than you could say, _gotcha!_

Careful to make sure he was indeed out cold, she crept out from the room while juggling to put her clothes back on and took a peek around, noting that everyone was absent. She made her way into her bedroom and began prepping for escape, knowing she had only precious moments before he found her.

Sakura said goodbye to Raito, thanked him for his services which she received a squeak, and folded her hand into the tiger symbol.

Sakura always had been appraised for her expert chakra control throughout her childhood and adult life. She'd heard rumors that she surpassed her mentor, Tsunade, in chakra control, so if anything could be fixed through chakra, it was her.

Understanding her reign on her chakra over the past days haven't been good, there was still a little wiggle room, for to have your chakra completely taken from you would mean certain death, so of course she was granted with some, albeit not enough to bash through a wall.

Focusing, she drew all of her energy to her heart chakra, the most powerful, and collected until there was no more to be taken from the subjugation spell. Concentrating harder, beads of sweat broke out all over her flesh as she tried to budge the seal, carefully prodding it at first, but then holding it, twisting it, shaking it beneath her fingers until it became almost a physical item and she was wrestling with it.

Manipulating her skill, she found that there as another reserve of chakra dwelling within her, something foreign yet familiar at the same time. This unknown energy wanted to help her get free, and it leant it strength to her, shrouding the seal with its energy and snapping it easily. A weight lifted from her chest—but now was the time to act.

Feeling renewed and rejuvenated, she took out through the forbidden secret staircase where the exit lay. With her senses heightened once more, a rapidly approaching entity that could only be Itachi sped towards her so fast, she propelled herself from the ship's side into the shock of cold water, swimming easily through the large waves, cutting through them like paper, reaching the shore and sprinting for all of her life's worth.

Though the threat hadn't passed, she effectively took him off guard long enough that she had at least a few clicks between them both. If she didn't stop now, she could keep going, and if he pursued her even farther, she would find someway to loop around him and rest for the night.

As her reserves were being pushed on, and her energy was draining from many days of inactivity, that same energy lit up and told her it was here. She tuned in on it, allowing it to encompass her, and soon her legs were driving her into oblivion, so fast that she didn't even feel two energies approaching her. She had been so zoned out, she didn't recognize Hinata at first, let alone the person accompanying her, and instinct told her to keep running.

As soon as she stopped, forced by some outside help, the energy that had been lent to her was snatched viciously away and she passed out, only to recover to see HInata's worrisome eyes.

"Yes, Hinata, I really did that."

Hinata found it difficult to breathe. What her friend had did to escape was remarkable, but at the same time, it must have really traumatized her. She placed a pale hand on Sakura's, smiling softly. "You did good, though! You got out."

Sakura nodded, sleepy and tired. "Yeah, I guess. Hey, so who was with you? I didn't really get a chance to see."

Immediately Hinata's face was beet read. She worried her lip and looked around elsewhere.

"Hinata, who was it?"

Hinata scratched the back of her head. "Uchiha Sasuke," she mumbled quietly.

Sakura's heart stopped. Why? Was all she could think, and from the expression on her friend's face, she wasn't lying. Why would she be travelling with him? Scratch that, why would _he_ be travelling with _her_?

"Tell me _everything_."

And when Hinata was finished relaying all of the events leading up to finding Sakura, the medic-nin almost couldn't believe it was true. "He wanted to _help_ me? What's in it for him? You didn't exchange anything, did you?"

"No no, nothing like that. It, apparently, was orders from Kakashi-san. He said that Kakashi-san couldn't leave the village to look for you without bringing Naruto, and h-he's got his Hokage lessons to go to. So I helped Kakashi-san, and I convinced Naruto to go back home, and I followed Sasuke. It had been his idea for me to tag along, and all it took was a promise for him no to hurt Naruto-kun anymore."

"And you _believed _him? Oh, Hinata, I love you for coming to get me but don't _ever_ trust what he says!"

"Why, I came to get your sorry ass didn't I?"

The sound of another voice startled her. She had to be tired, because she never felt him approaching at all. "What do you want, Sasuke?" she spat, crawling closer into the cave and away from the man who looked just as bad as she felt.

Sasuke moved ungracefully into the shelter and sat in between the two women. He rubbed out his stiff shoulder and hissed when it tugged particularly hard, and he suspected a pinched nerve or a mighty bruise.

"I assume Hinata's told you why I'm here already."

"Yes, but it makes no sense—why would you help Kakashi of all people to save _me_?"

"Because he gave me something that I couldn't get," he replied curtly, beginning to massage his shoulder. "But now that it's gone, I don't really wanna stick around any longer, but I can't see getting it back, either. So I guess I'm stuck returning your butt back to Konoha."

"What did you trade Kakashi for?" Sakura asked, hating being close to him, smelling him, breathing the same air as him.

"I wanted my scroll that was in the compound, and he bargained it for me finding you. But now that I've lost the scroll, I guess the contract would be nullified. But I'll hang around anyway,"

Sakura scoffed, curling in a ball around herself, "Someone's talkative today."

Hinata made herself a cozy nest in her pine needles, and if Sakura didn't know any better, passed out from exhaustion. Sakura felt her eyelids grow droopy, too, and her will to carry on the discussion with Sasuke seemed like too much work. So she said nothing, and cuddled up to the cold rock wall, and slept more soundly than she had in days.

xXx

It wasn't Sakura's fault, exactly, when she and Hinata both passed out to leave him in charge of watch duty. And by the sound of their snoring, an hour wouldn't be enough time to rouse them, either. His muscles still ached, and asking Sakura to help him out would be suicide, so he wallowed silently in the darkness and listened as the sounds of nightlife came alive all around.

He judged it to be about three hours since the sun had set, and it was more than enough time to get Hinata up for first watch. He moved silently toward the sleeping woman, about to quietly stir her, when he heard Sakura wake instead.

"S-ssauke… Whadd're you doing?" she grumbled, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"I was waking Hinata for watch,"

"Don't, no. I'll do it,"

"Okay then,"

They switched spots without a word. Sasuke tried not to notice the warmth that had seeped into the earth where she had been laying, and the faint scent of shampoo entered his nostrils.

Awkward silence hung suspended in the air. Sakura dared not to breathe, fearing she was being too loud and that Itachi would somehow hear her from wherever she was.

"Sasuke," she murmured, hoping he was asleep.

"Yeah?"

She hoped she sounded indifferent, "Why did you ever give me that necklace? If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be in this mess."

Sasuke wasn't sure how to respond. Admitting to her that he had hoped she would be in that situation so he could hunt his brother down and kill him, all with his powerful sword, necklace, and scroll, probably would get him punched into oblivion. So he settled for, "It seemed like a good thing at the time."

Furious, Sakura refused to continue conversation with him, feeling a hollowness that was now more prominent than before. The images in her head was stuck on replay with Itachi's lips all over her body, his hands, his scent, washing over and drowning her until she almost forgot her motives. It was all in the act, she convinced herself. She couldn't truly have those feelings towards a criminal.

The chills that ran through her body said otherwise.

"Why did you come after me?" she asked, stealing a glance at his back.

Again, Sasuke couldn't tell her, and he found himself in a bit of a predicament. "I owed Kakashi," he lied.

"What?"

He scoffed. "None of your business,"

"Of course. The reason why you're saving my life is none of my business."

The Uchiha shut his mouth, wondering when Sakura had become so astute, so… not annoying. Maybe his leaving had done something to change her, but he knew it was for the better—for her to evade his brother had been a feat on itself, and not an easy one. The complexity that was her was begging to be solved, but he wanted to respect his boundaries, knowing meddling with her life would not bring happiness to it, but tarnish it.

After all, he already had caused her such pain. And look what had happened to her. Surely another event couldn't damage her completely, but he felt that maybe it wasn't the way she was meant to become stronger after this.

"Well, I'd tell you, but I'd have to kill you," he joked, not liking how it was… easy to connect with himself around her. The last time they had seen each other, he held a sword to Naruto's throat, and had it in him to kill her, too. But with interference, both escaped unharmed. Causing harm to them specifically was never in the regime; they happened to always be in his way. And this girl… she was always pushing him into situations he'd rather not be in.

Sakura laughed dully and fought off fatigue, determined not to be weak in front of him. She left that part of herself back on the bench in the park, when the stoic, driven boy had said thank you to her and bestowed her not a gift, but a curse. He must have had an ulterior motive for giving her this, and before they reached Konoha, she was determined to find it out.

Sasuke fell into a sort of meditative state, vaguely aware of the sound of Sakura's shuffling in the night, the sound of her voice as she hummed to herself. He shut it all out, delving deep into a dream of when he left her broken hearted on the bench, the Ryuukaton hanging poignantly around her neck. He dreamed he'd kissed her goodbye.

When Sasuke woke, he avoided her as much as possible, and the possibility that maybe all of his emotions for this girl hadn't been severed after all.

xXx

**A/N: **Hope you liked this! Sorry, it was a long time coming, I know, but it's here now. Review on your way out, please!


	12. Emotional Tug of War

**A/N: **Hey guys, here's the next installment. Sorry for the epic delay you guys. Check out the poll I have on my profile page about keeping this either strictly ItaXSaku or interloping some SasuxSaku in this, even though it's sort of happening already lol.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto, or _Criminal_ by Brittany Spears.

xXx

_Mama I'm in love with a criminal,  
>and this type of love isn't rational it's physical.<br>Mama please don't cry I will be all right;  
>all reason aside I just can't deny—love the guy.<em>

xXx

Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke had been travelling for three days from Kiri to Konoha, only stopping to sleep, eat, and answer nature's call. The driven force to place as much distance from the ocean and Itachi had dissolved, replacing it with a steady pace that ensured they would arrive in their home as quickly as possible. There was never much conversation throughout the last forty-eight hours, and although awkwardness threatened to consume them, no one made an advancement to place some leisurely conversation in with the picture.

Sakura's legs burned intensely, as they had been for a few hours already, but she was not about to complain about it now. Having been cramped in a small corridor on a ship for several weeks had loosened her muscles enough to make this journey cumbersome. Hinata and Sasuke weren't slowing their pace, seemingly racing whenever she tended to glance at the two of them. Whatever sort of circumstances had placed them together must have been dire enough for them to cooperate. And then Sakura realized they'd set aside their differences for her.

Sasuke's attitude had been something she expected from the many years of isolation with a crazy experimental Sannin who fled the village; stoic and detached. But there was another side to him as well, one she knew what was hiding, one that she feared more than anything else. She wasn't sure how she knew, but he, of course, was a force to be reckon with if he had been able to achieve all the dirty deeds he's acclaimed for over the years. An almost solemn respect came with being around him.

They were about a days travel away from Konoha, and at the speed Sakura was keeping them at; they would have to carry on throughout the night to even make it on that schedule. No one belittled her for it, which was surprising considering Sasuke had always been the one to flaunt her obvious impairments. But his mouth was shut, and Hinata understood her condition silently.

So Sakura said nothing to this and carried on at her best pace.

In the midst of this, Sasuke was experiencing inner hell.

Conflicted emotions wrought a war in his mind that was yet to be won, but he hoped that his rationale would override whatever the other emotion was. It wasn't like with being around Karin, where he didn't have to support a conversation, or even pretend to be into her—she supplied moderate company, and if he got laid, then all the better.

Being around Sakura, his ex-teammate, pushed him over the edge. He wasn't used to feeling uncomfortable, or intimidated, or even bested; but with her, for some reason right now, all of those emotions rushed him and he was trying his best to fend and conquer them. What he didn't understand was that when he had last seen her—albeit holding a sword to her throat and about to murder Naruto—none of those emotions had applied because he had one goal; destroy.

Now that that emotion had been substituted for rescue, he wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Hadn't all of his fears and cravings died with his soul? He'd thought so, but apparently they were still residing somewhere.

"Hey, I see an inn about five kilometers from here," intoned Hinata, raising her finger and pointing in that general direction. "It looks nice, we should stay there."

Sasuke grunted his reply. Sakura squealed in delight and discovered new-found energy and sped ahead, tantalized by the thought of comfort and food. Maybe they would even have a hot spring, too!

Sasuke watched with mild amusement as the pink-haired kunoichi drooled her way toward the impending inn, wondering why such a thing could easily intrigue her. At least he now knew that she hadn't drained all of her energy as they had been lead to believe.

About half of an hour later, the threesome arrived at the resplendent inn which housed over one hundred residences in its grand walls. The building's walls were stucco white, with red slashes thrown in around the wooden panels which outlined the building, and tatami mats placed strategically in front of each sliding door. A door greeter slid smoothly up to the trio, a wide smile on his face, his charms adorned on his white kimono jingling pleasantly.

"Welcome, welcome! My name is Fuyan. You are very lucky travelers to wind up here at Yukura's Inn, because tonight we are hosting happy hour and introducing our new drink, which will be on the house tonight and tonight only! Now, would you prefer one room with two queens, or a three singles?"

Hinata and Sakura glanced briefly at each other. "Two queens," they said in unison.

Fuyan glimpsed warily at Sasuke before ushering them inside, picking out a three keys for each of them. "Now, this one opens your room—" he pointed to the silver key, "and this one opens the spa—" he pointed to the gold key, "and this opens to the roof pool—" the last was a bronze key. He shoved the three sets in each of their hands and beckoned them to follow him to the receptionist desk. "Now, the first night's stay is free as long as you're staying two or more nights."

Sakura didn't bother fishing around in her pockets for change like her friends; all of her personal belongings were somewhere aboard the ship with Itachi. Hinata and Sasuke produced enough for the first night's stay, saying that they were going to stay another night as well. Sakura watched almost listlessly as each travelled to the third floor where their room was located.

Their room was also quite extravagant; the two queen beds were made with this cottony material that felt delicious against Sakura's skin, with a little coffee maker in the corner on a night stand and a TV that actually looked like it worked. They were tipped off right away that this building normally housed high royalty, for no one in Konoha even so much as owned a radio, which couldn't pick up distant channels anyway from the outside of the border.

"Wow," Hinata breathed, inspecting the bathroom. She marveled t the chrome interior. "I don't even have this back in the mansion,"

Sasuke grunted and chose a spot in the corner adjacent the window, staring out at the setting sun and trying not to appear fazed by this outcome. He didn't plan on sleeping in this room; he would settle with patrolling out on the rooftop for enemies and letting the girls have the bed. He wouldn't tell this to Sakura, though—she'd surely insist on taking shifts, and frankly he just didn't trust anyone else to do the job. Allowing them to take shifts before had been a mistake on his part, one he wasn't willing to repeat.

Sakura fingered the golden key thoughtfully. "I know where I'm going," she smiled, and Hinata smiled hesitantly back with her own golden key, "Sasuke, you coming?"

His raven head shook once and that was all Sakura needed, "Come on, I hope there are some cute royals hanging down by the pool!"

Sasuke heard the two shut the door and travel down the stairs in search for the spa room, and it was then that he was able to relax even for a little since he was in the presence of Sakura. He untied his obi and let it pool around him, clad in only his trunks and his boots, which he savagely kicked off. Reclining in the plush chair, he sunk into a meditative state and drowned out all thoughts from his head, but one pink thought continued to pester him despite his wishes.

xXx

The girls located the pool room easily enough. Sakura was brimming with excitement when they entered the changing rooms, stripping herself of her clothing and donning a blue towel and a fluffy white robe over top whilst grinning the entire time. Hinata was worried that Sakura might pull a muscle with the way her grin stretched out over her face, but the girl said nothing, pleased to see that her friend was at least well enough to enjoy a little bit of pampering.

"Sakura," Hinata said quietly when they entered the unisex hot springs room, flushing momentarily not because of the heat, but of embarrassment.

"Mhmm?" Sakura hummed, tightening the towel before dropping the robe, eager to get in the warm water with a few hunks. She spotted one with fair hair and taut, sinewy skin, his face screaming ninja.

"I just w-wanted to know about s-something," the Hyuuga progressed shyly, following her friend in the water and flushing even more when she realized that they would be joining two equally attractive males in the pool. _What would Naruto-kun think?_ She asked herself before internally banishing that from her mind.

Sakura settled herself in the pool and rested her back against the warm stony wall, glancing appreciatively at the men beside her. "What's that?" she answered her friend wanly, casting a small smile at the blonde haired man when he turned her way. His eyes brightened, and she winked at him.

"Sakura!" Hinata stressed, pulling her closer. "I just, um, wanted to know—uh,"

"Spit it out,"

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Being captured by, you know, _him_."

Instantly Sakura regretted accepting to answer her question. She didn't think she willingly could. It wasn't the story of the century, but it obviously hadn't been a cake-walk, either.

Hinata understood Sakura's silence, and did not push the girl. "I had to keep Naruto-kun away." She said softly. "Maybe if I hadn't, he could have killed him."

Sakura immediately snapped back. "No! Of course not! Not now, Hinata, he's not strong enough for him,"

Hinata's eyes softened, "Yes, I suppose you're right. But what would have happened if he did come along?"

"His target wouldn't have been Itachi," Sakura said confidently.

Somehow both of them knew it, even if it had been Itachi who kidnapped Sakura, Naruto would have gone after Sasuke initially. Not purposefully, but he would have been drawn to the younger Uchiha as helplessly as a bee to a flower. There was just something that neither of the girls could understand about the devotion he held to Sasuke. Although Sakura did not doubt Naruto's abilities as a shinobi to take care of himself as well as the others around him, it was obvious there was a skill difference that could be compared to a large chasm. Each held their respective strengths, but Sakura could think Sasuke would win, only because he tempered with darkness too much for light to shine through anymore.

Sakura slouched back on the warm rock, hoping to drown out her thoughts for at least an hour. Her face was flushed and her body was lax, so she allowed herself to drift off into a blissful gaze while Hinata reminisced on her goals; protect Naruto, or stop Sasuke.

"Oh, you two there! May I interest you in the house drink as a compliment for staying?"

Sakura sat up with great speed and clutched her arms around her chest, slightly relieved to see an auburn haired woman peeking through the sliding doors with a tray in her hands. Her face was overly painted with makeup, and the grin she wore looked slightly mischievous.

"I'm sorry, did I startle you?" she clucked her tongue. "I have a terrible habit for scaring our guests. Now, can I interest you in the house drink?"

"U-um, sure," Sakura replied, reaching for her robe. The woman waved at her.

"No need! I shall bring it to you!" her boisterous way of walking sort of reminded Sakura of Lee, and wondered if she believed in the Spirit of Youth as much as the Green Beast. "I did not introduce myself! I am Yinai, official housekeeper and, sometimes, room service manager!" As she said this she passed both Sakura and Hinata a wineglass that was filled to the brim with pink sparkling liquid.

Sakura took a sniff; it did not look unassuming, but she was wary of poisoned drinks more than most. "What's in this?"

"A special blend of herbs from Mount Jindo, a touch of raspberry, and the house's secret ingredient!"

Both girls were cautious of the 'secret ingredient' Yinai spoke of. "It… smells good," Hinata said slowly, sniffing it as well, and finding it pleasantly sweet.

"Enjoy! It's on the house!" Yinai waved herself out of the room, leaving the kunoichi to ponder whether to accept the drinks or to test it out for poison first.

"T-they run a business, right? Surely they wouldn't poison us, right, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura wrinkled her nose and eyed the drink suspiciously, searching the pink depths for clues. "I 'spose not," she agreed, "On three?"

xXx

"Hello?" _Knock knock knock _"Hello? Someone in there?"

Sasuke roused from his meditative state and answered the door, unsurprised to find Fuyan standing before him holding a wine bottle in his hand. "Greetings, traveler! May I interest you in our house drink I was procuring earlier?"

"I don't drink." Sasuke was about to close the door when Fuyan jammed his foot between it.

"Now, maybe your lady friends would appreciate some?"

Sasuke frowned and pushed the door harder against Fuyan's foot, impressed that the man did not budge an inch. "All right," he relented, grabbing the bottle quickly and slamming the door behind him, upturning his nose at the bottle that smelled like raspberries. He placed it on the counter and reclined back into his seat, bringing his mind back to its calm, undisturbed place.

The girls had been gone over two hours, but that wasn't what concerned him. If they had been drinking, like he assumed, he would be the only one left on watch. The thought annoyed him temporarily before he decided that it didn't matter. All that mattered was he settled his deal with Kakashi one way or another, and now being home-ward bound was the easy part. Submersed in his thoughts, he almost missed the footfalls that were heading toward his door; they were unhurried and staggered, and Sasuke feared the worst.

The door slid open and a face poked in, bright and bubbly with rouge tinting on her cheeks. "See! It's _him_!" the girl, who turned out to be not Sakura or Hinata, bubbled with joy, ushering her friends to peer over her shoulder. "I _told_ you that I could find him for us!"

Dread crept through Sasuke when he detected more than ten bodies behind that now frail looking door. "What're you doing here?" he snapped coldly.

The girl who had her head poking through the door giggled mischievously. "It doesn't look like he's been drinking much. Maybe we can change that, huh girls?"

Before the riot could have a chance to complete their ululating calls, Sasuke was out the window, and sort of wishing it had been the girls to come back drunk instead of the onslaught that drove him out of his room. He heard the girls' whines when they discovered he escaped and he smirked privately, running along the rooftop that must have been twenty feet above the ground. Where was he to go? He allowed his feet to transport him away from his infested room and around the perimeter of the building, searching for any signs of the girls.

The thought of going back to where he knew Itachi was hiding out at tempted him minutely before he realized there was no longer a need to go back. Sure he wanted to ascertain the scroll yet again and unlock its secrets, but he sort of wanted to honour the deal he had made with Kakashi. He figured since he had gotten Sakura back somewhat safe and somewhat sound, that his end of the bargain was up. Wouldn't Hinata be able to transport her back without fuss, and he could go ahead and get his scroll back?

Back to Kiri it was, then. Sasuke remembered the scroll hinting him towards the North, to Iwa. Why had that been so? Sakura was linked to the Ryuukaton in some fashion, so wouldn't the scroll have pointed in her initial direction in the first place? Because now that he thought of it, it had been Hinata's ability that truly set them on the correct route to Sakura, and _not_ his scroll. How could that be, unless…

He had to leave—now.

Sasuke contemplated informing the two kunoichi but thought against it almost immediately. They would figure out that he flaked out on them once more, because it wasn't as if he wasn't accustomed to leaving without explanation. He would _have_ to go investigate what lay in Iwa, especially now that Itachi possessed the scroll and would undoubtedly point him within the same direction. He could kill two birds with one kunai, then.

As he started out of the doors of the giant inn, a thought struck him funnily. Could Sakura detect the Ryuukaton by herself? If she could, it would certainly save him the hassle of going for it blindly, no pun intended. Though he had a deal to honour with Kakashi, couldn't he just be a criminal once more without reprimand?

It was settled. Sasuke slowly began making his way back into the inn, avoiding stealthily the crowd that had just been lingering outside of his door, and entering his still empty room. He would wait for them to return, and then he would take Sakura with him. Either by force or by compromise it surely depended on her state of mind.

xXx

"… and _then_ I said to her, 'is that genjutsu, or did you forget to put your make up on today?'"

Sakura almost spilled the mouthful of wine up her nose at Toga's joke. The blonde haired civilian had immediately caught her eye with his long scruffy hair that was tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck and his delicious brown eyes. Hinata was distant from the other man because of her faithfulness to Naruto, even though she seemed to be warming up to him one sip at a time.

Toga proceeded to tell another joke as Sakura downed the last of her second bottle. Damn, what's in this stuff? She asked herself while searching for another replacement, her head fuzzy and spinning already. There was a funny feeling brewing within her tummy that constantly gave her butterflies, but it didn't compare to the feeling she received in her legs, as if they were on vibrate or something. Whatever was in this wine she absolutely loved it—her eyes lit up when there was another unopened bottle right by her side. She grabbed it up and pulled the cork out with her teeth.

"Oh, you really like your wine, don't you?" hummed Toga, shifting closer to her. Sakura eagerly nodded her head and draped her legs across his thighs. Hinata blushed profusely and looked away bashfully at her friend's lewd actions.

She was becoming progressively irritated by the minute. She herself had drank some of the wine, but not as ferociously or as quickly as Sakura, and that wasn't causing her to become a horny bitch in heat. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Naruto-kun was on her mind, but still; the effects didn't seem to be hitting her as easily. Maybe Sakura was filtering it through her blood quicker to up the effects? Hinata didn't know, and she sort of felt bad for the remaining guy who wasn't even looking at her, sensing her uneasiness. He probably had the same thing his friend had on his mind—to hook up with chicks and get wasted. And she didn't even know his name. She felt a little guilty for upsetting his outcome, but she would remain faithful to Naruto no matter what.

As Hinata took another gulp from her seemingly bottomless wineglass, she sensed one less chakra presence in the building. It only took her a second to realize that it was Sasuke's.

"Sakura!" she said, dragging her friend off of Toga.

"What?" she snapped minutely before recognizing the distress on Hinata's face. "What, Hinata?"

"It's Sasuke—he's not in the building anymore."

Sakura's heart thumped deeply within her chest. Should she let him leave? After all this? Rationality aside, she just couldn't stop chasing after things that weren't hers.

"C'mon, let's get changed." Sakura gave Toga a quick kiss on the cheek. "I had a great time, really—but I gotta go."

Surprisingly, the girls were able to dress in a hurry without tripping over their own feet or the flat surface and flash from the hot spring room. Hinata lead them back to the lobby, the guests gawking at their soaked clothing and messy hair.

"Where is he?"

"Out on the foyer, just before the gate. We can make it if we sprint now,"

The girls put all of their strength into their legs and ran like maniacs through the lobby doors and out into the foyer. Faintly they heard Fuyan calling for them to stop.

As they reached outside near the gate Hinata abruptly stopped and redirected her vision to the top of the building. "He's… going back," she said, noting now that her vision was fuzzy and a little distorted. Her sense of Sasuke' s chakra wasn't as strong as it had been merely hours ago.

Sakura swore unpleasantly. "Damn it, what's he doing?" she started back for the lobby, telling herself that she would give him a swift kick to the groin when they came back. If she was pissed now, her anger tripled when she realized she left her almost full bottle of wine at the hot springs. "Now he's _definitely _going to get it," she grumbled.

"Is something the matter, ladies?" Fuyan questioned as they approached the stairs, his brow creased with worry. "You're not leaving so soon, are you?"

"No, just a false alarm," Sakura waved the man off. Hinata bowed respectfully and followed after Sakura.

"I see you've been drinking our wine! How is it?" Fuyan persisted.

"Delicious," Sakura frowned, "but I left my bottle back at the hot springs."

"Oh, not a problem then! Here, we'll just replace it," he dived in behind his counter and fished out what seemed to be an endless supply of their special wine, offering it to Sakura with a charming smile. "On the house, my dear. Enjoy the rest of your stay."

They didn't bother with returning the warm feelings.

Sasuke heard their footsteps approaching before he heard Sakura's growls. What had her so angry, anyway? In a silent act of protection he moved to the far side of the room, just in case she decided to kick the door in.

Surprisingly she held enough self-restraint within her to open the door without bending the doorknob. Her green eyes sparkled with anger as they located him. She almost snickered seeing him sitting on the chair in the corner in the farthest part of the room. He probably thought she'd kick the door in. As if.

"Why'd you take off so suddenly?" she demanded, gripping the bottle almost protectively as Hinata shuffled in behind her to sit on the bed. She pulled the cork out again with her teeth and spat it in his direction, the object almost connecting with his temple when he caught it skillfully. She pouted but took a large swig anyway. "We thought you were about to take off."

Sasuke cursed Hinata, knowing that it had been her to detect it. He would have to be much more cautious if he was to steal Sakura away without alerting Hinata.

He decided not to answer her relentless questions, ignoring her blatantly while keeping a vigilant eye on her drinking progress. "How much have you had, anyway?" he asked to Sakura.

She clutched the bottle to her chest and said, "This is my third," almost sheepishly.

_Wonderful_, he thought.

xXx

Now that Itachi had the scroll in his possession, it seemed that he had actually gone two steps back instead of two steps forward. He had the girl who could locate the Ryuukaton in his arsenal, and if he had really wanted to, could have kept her as well, and that would have meant he would own the scroll _and_ her. But as it was he had left her to escape, thinking at the moment that he could find the necklace without her assistance and with the scroll alone.

The scroll seemed reluctant to give up its findings to him, however.

He folded it and tucked it beneath his cloak, wondering why the scroll wouldn't operate properly for him when it obviously lead Sasuke to that kunoichi girl. Though Sakura didn't know it, Itachi purposely allowed for her to knock him out and to flee away, knowing it would undoubtedly give him a chance to find his little brother, who by now would've been connecting the dots and have the scroll within his grasp. It was a risky assumption on his part, almost resulting in him gaining nothing at all, but it had all paid off—almost.

He hadn't counted on the scroll to be so obdurate. Normally all it took was a pinch of Uchiha blood for it to reveal its secrets, so why was he suddenly the exception? He unraveled the scroll once more and inspected it closely, noting that there was no previous blood stain that could've belonged to his younger brother. Then how…?

Itachi did not appreciate being triumphed by a piece of paper with writing on it, nor by his little brother. What did he do that was different? He could tell that the scroll had, indeed, given Sasuke directions based on the freshly written directions on it, but it pointed North. He was not North, but South , the complete opposite direction. It would not be wise to base his next route on the previously sought out direction until he knew for certain what it meant.

His brilliant mind started assimilating the evidence over the past few weeks, on what he knew about the girl, the Ryuukaton energy within her, and with the person he thought might possess it currently. After several minutes he now understood—the scroll had not been pointing Sasuke in Sakura's path, but in the path of the actual necklace. And with that he could easily retrieve it, along with his sword.

Folding the paper once more underneath his cloak, Itachi set about a strategy that, once again, he would have to rely heavily on his intuition.

xXx

Sakura was passed out on the bed next to Hinata with the bottle clutched tightly in her fist, the end of the bottle jabbing into her armpit. Sasuke would have once thought that this sight might be cute and a bit comical, but not now; he had to get her out of here as soon as possible.

He was grateful that Sakura had been pushing Hinata to drink more with her, the two of them under the pretense that the Uchiha was now harmlessly on their team and that they had nothing to fear of him. That was the first mistake they had made while being in his presence. And now that the two were rendered incapacitated, all he had to do now was slip Sakura away discreetly and wait for her to wake up and lead him to his artifact, and ultimately, Itachi.

As he paced around the bed, he noticed that in her sleep Sakura tended to twitch and curl her big toes as she was dreaming. Hinata lay still as a stone beside her, humming to herself periodically. Firstly, he pried the bottle away from Sakura's now limp fingers, prepared to set a genjutsu up in case she woke up. The bottle slipped away without a hitch. He placed it gingerly on the bed stand and maneuvered around her, trying now to separate the girls from each other as calmly and slowly as possible. Hinata stirred minutely when he moved her arm from Sakura's shoulder and onto her own stomach, but sank deep back into dreamland. He knew from experience that it took the noise as loud as an explosion to wake Sakura up from a drunken sleep, so he practiced less diligently with her to extract her from the bed.

He expertly slung her over his back and positioned her arms to wrap around his neck while he held her by her thighs. Her eyes opened briefly, taking in the scene around her. He did not believe that she was fully awake and aware so he stayed motionless until she fell asleep again. But she didn't. Fuck.

"Sasuke?" she murmured against his ear, fidgeting slightly. "What're you doing?"

"You asked me to carry you to the bathroom." Sasuke cursed his lame excuse as soon as it left his lips, knowing she'd see right past it.

"Oh, right, right. I remember now…" Miraculously she fell right back into her stupor, snoring softly on his shoulder. He let out a long sigh, aware that he had begun to sweat a little. "Can we go for ice cream?" she asked innocently, sounding entirely awake.

"Uh, sure," he answered, figuring that it didn't matter if he left now or not, she was completely out of it.

"I like ice cream. Remember when we went to the ice cream store in Konoha and Naruto dropped his on the floor? That was funny," she started to giggle uncontrollably. Hinata moved slightly on the bed.

"Sakura, you've got to be really quiet, okay?" he whispered, closing the door behind him mutely. Sakura nuzzled into his neck and hugged him closely.

"M'kay,"

Uneasily he ignored her humming and incessant nuzzling until they reached the empty lobby.

"Sasuke?"

He repressed a sigh of annoyance. "Yes?"

"The wine was good, but it's doing funny things to me."

_Good, maybe then you won't notice what we're doing at all_, he thought hopefully.

"What sort of things?" he ventured, figuring it shouldn't hurt to amuse her a little. As long as she pretended that this was some sort of dream that she hopefully wouldn't wake up from for another six hours or so.

"Well, it makes me light headed, and I have butterflies in my stomach. And I just feel so… _warm_."

Warily, he turned his head around to see her. His head snapped back forward almost impossible fast when he realized that she had her lips puckered to kiss him. Contemplating dropping her and just taking his chances, she said something that almost won over that consideration.

"Why'd you ever leave me? I would've been so good to you."

"Sakura now's not the time," he sputtered.

"But when is it? You and your brother are so alike it scares me,"

Sasuke's gaze grew dark. "I am nothing like my brother."

"Yes you are," she argued, unaware that they were now heading out of the inn gates and on to the main dirt road. "Both of you are just assholes, and that's why I can't help from being attracted to the both of you. Why do I have to pick the assholes?"

Now he _really_ knew that she was out of it. "You don't like my brother, you're delusional."

"Yeah, I must be," she slumped on his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck. "I'm an emotional wreck to still love you, and an idiot to be considering your brother as an alternative. Why can't I just choose normal guys?"

Sasuke didn't answer her. Soon enough she fell back asleep, leaving him to consider what she was saying. There was just no way that she could have ever fallen for his brother, for he must have tortured her, abused her, frightened her. Itachi didn't have a compassionate bone left in his body, so for her to see anything in him was slim. Then again Sasuke was hardly one to talk, considering that she apparently still longed for him, too.

It was moments like these that he often fantasized what it would have been like if he never left his once and only true home, only to quickly refute any of these ridiculous ideas. He was an avenger, and he would not quit until he did just that. His heart was solely oriented on killing his brother to avenge his clan. So why was it telling him something else now?

No, it wasn't—once again Sasuke became an empty shell void of only the most important of things. He would not allow for his heart to control his mind. And maybe he would teach Sakura the same by squashing hers in the process.

xXx

Okay, that's it for now. I will determine the outcome of the next chapter by your votes, so please don't forget to visit the homepage after reading!


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